The dialogic of ethnology

Conclusion I have tried, here, to raise a number of questions which challenge the normal practice of Anthropology and I have tried to show why such a challenge needs to be formulated at all. It should be clear by now that the initial step — without which the effort to hear the Other's challenge would have been hopeless from the beginning — must be to seek forms of social action which do not silence the Other's full voice at the outset, which do not abstract it from its context, and which allow it to be heard in a critical address to the Self. Only in conceiving such forms and working towards them (and the Other's voice must be heard at the earliest possible stages of this process) can Anthropology and social action in general begin to embrace its own vulnerability. The failure to do this leads, as we have seen, to either a monologue (as with Radin's voice of the Other or the comparativist's voice of the Self) or to an antilogue (as in the relativist approach), where both Self and Other speak but not to one another.The event + dialogue form which the Faqir and I settled on during one stage of my fieldwork suggests an alternative to this practice; but it should be emphasized that this alternative is in no sense meant to be definitive. At best, such a record testifies to several aims: to convey faithfully the power of the Other; to demonstrate the need to seek new forms of the anthropological and the Western project which will recognize their wager aspect and the inherent vulnerability; and to strive for a critical examination of this record's own success or failure in achieving these objectives.The event + dialogue form must thus be looked at not as a model but as a suggestive metaphor for social action and for an Anthropology which embrace their wager character. It cannot provide a model for, just as the confrontation between the West and other human groups is not summarized in all its complexity by Anthropology, and just as fieldwork does not encompass all phases of Anthropology, neither does this record, as event + interview, exactly reflect the fieldwork experience. But the focus on Anthropology, on fieldwork, and on the event + interview, is not arbitrary — it carries a particular significance: it marks the desire to take that moment of the Western encounter with the Other where the Western project is at its most vulnerable, most deeply called into question and to penetrate the shield of immunity that has been constructed around it. If we can begin to do this here, perhaps we can then move toward restituting vulnerability to those other aspects of the confrontation where the Self is even more heavily protected.Kevin Dwyer is an anthropologist, and currently directs Middle East affairs for Amnesty International.     

CTHRC1与肿瘤关系的研究进展

胶原三股螺旋重复蛋白1基因是从大鼠正常动脉和受损动脉中筛选出的差异表达基因,其通过TGF-β和Wnt/PCP通路发挥作用,使胶原生成减少,促进细胞迁移。在多种肿瘤中发现CTHRC1异常表达,并与肿瘤转移相关。该文就CTHRC1与肿瘤的关系作一综述。     

瓣状内切核酸酶1与肿瘤

瓣状内切核酸酶1(flap endonuclease 1,FEN1)是一种结构特异性核酸酶,由一个核心结构域和一条尾链组成。FEN1在DNA修复过程中冈崎片段成熟时RNA引物的切除,长片段碱基切除修复中瓣状结构的切除等过程中发挥着重要作用。FEN1与不同的蛋白质相互作用,在不同的DNA复制和修复途径中发挥着重要作用。FEN1在肿瘤中有着异常的表达,这表明它可能是一种潜在的肿瘤标记物。     

The relationship between the comb and social behaviour in laying hens

The question of whether attributes of the combs of laying hens have any consistent relationship with dominance behaviour has yet to be answered unequivocally. This study sought to address this by investigating whether a relationship existed between the competitive ability of hens within stable groups and the size or colour of their combs. Pullets (n = 120, Hy-line^® Variety Brown) were allocated randomly to eight groups of 15 hens for 32 weeks. Over this period the length and height of each hen's comb was measured regularly to estimate the total comb area and hens were weighed. In weeks 3-10 the aggressive interactions between hens in each group were observed to calculate a behavioural dominance score (David's score) for each hen. This score was based on the outcome of agonistic interactions with other group members; and accounts for the relative strengths of all opponents. Thus dominance scores reflected the competitive ability of hens from their overall within-group fighting success. The luminance, purity and dominant wavelength of the colour of each hen's comb was measured in week 27 using a telespectroradiometer. Hens with higher dominance scores had larger combs than those with lower dominance scores (gradient of slope = 0.008 ± 0.002, P < 0.001); this relationship was consistent across the experiment. There was no association between body weight and dominance score but there was a significant inverse relationship between dominance score and the dominant wavelength of the comb (gradient of slope = −0.067 ± 0.023, P < 0.01). This indicated that hens with combs perceived by humans as more yellow-red than pure red were generally more successful competitors. Further research is required to ascertain whether or not hens utilise this information on comb size and the underexplored area of comb colour to assess the competitive ability of their opponents.     

The interface between medical anthropology and medical ethnobiology

Medical anthropology is concerned with both the causes and consequences of human sickness, and its various theoretical orientations can be grouped into four major approaches: medical ecology, critical medical anthropology, interpretative medical anthropology, and ethnomedicine. While medical anthropologists of all theoretical persuasions have examined why people get sick, the analysis and understanding of patterns of treatment has been largely confined to ethnomedicine. Historically, more emphasis has been placed on the personalistic or supernatural aspects of ethnomedical systems than on naturalistic or empirical components. While this focus has produced valuable insights into the role of ritual and belief in healing, it has led to the impression that traditional medicine is primarily symbolic. Moreover, it ignores the theoretical bases of traditional healing strategies and the practical means by which most of the world heals itself, namely plants. Recently there has been more interest in the empirical character of ethnomedical systems, and in this paper we consider the role that medical ethnobiology has played in this shift of focus. We begin with a brief history of medical anthropology to illuminate why naturalistic medicine was neglected for so long. We then review exemplary research in two areas of medical ethnobiology – ethnophysiology and medical ethnobotany – that address the study of naturalistic aspects of medical systems. We conclude with suggestions for future research at the interface between medical ethnobiology and medical anthropology that will contribute to both fields.     

The relationship between ethnicity,social deprivation and late presentation of colorectal cancer

IntroductionTumour staging at time of presentation is an important factor in determining survival in colorectal cancer. The aim of this paper is to investigate the relationship between ethnicity and deprivation in late (Stage IV) presentation of colorectal cancer.MethodsData from the Thames Cancer Registry comprising 77,057 colorectal cancer patients between the years 2000 and 2012 were analysed.ResultsA total of 17,348 patients were identified with complete data, of which 53.9% were male. Patients from a Black Afro/Caribbean background were diagnosed with CRC at a much younger age than the White British group (median age 67 compared with 72, p < 0.001). In multiple regression, ethnicity, deprivation and age were positive predictors of presenting with advanced tumour stage at time of diagnosis. Black patients were more likely to present with Stage IV tumours than white patients (OR 1.37, 95% CI 1.18–1.59, p < 0.001). Social deprivation was also a predictor of Stage IV cancer presentation, with the most deprived group (Quintile 5) 1.26 times more likely to be diagnosed with Stage IV cancer compared with the most affluent group (CI 1.13–1.40, p < 0.001). Sub-group analyses demonstrated that Black & Affluent patients were still at greater risk of Stage IV CRC than their White & Affluent counterparts (OR 1.24, 95% CI 1.11–1.45, p = 0.023). Patients with rectal cancer were less likely to present with Stage IV CRC (OR 0.66, 95% CI 0.61–0.71, p < 0.001).ConclusionRacial and age related disparities exist in tumour presentation in the United Kingdom. Patients from black and socially deprived backgrounds as well as the elderly are more likely to present with advanced tumours at time of diagnosis.     

The symbolic interaction of industrial work groups: A study in social anthropology

Norman O'Neil is Professor of Anthropology at University of Hull, UK     

The relationship between social behaviour and habitat familiarity in African elephants (Loxodonta africana)

Social associations with conspecifics can expedite animals'' acclimation to novel environments. However, the benefits gained from sociality may change as the habitat becomes familiar. Furthermore, the particular individuals with whom animals associate upon arrival at a new place, familiar conspecifics or knowledgeable unfamiliar residents, may influence the type of information they acquire about their new home. To examine animals'' social dynamics in novel habitats, we studied the social behaviour of African elephants (Loxodonta africana) translocated into a novel environment. We found that the translocated elephants'' association with conspecifics decreased over time supporting our hypothesis that sociality provides added benefits in novel environments. In addition, we found a positive correlation between body condition and social association, suggesting that elephants gain direct benefits from sociality. Furthermore, the translocated elephants associated significantly less than expected with the local residents and more than expected with familiar, but not necessarily genetically related, translocated elephants. The social segregation between the translocated and resident elephants declined over time, suggesting that elephants can integrate into an existing social setting. Knowledge of the relationship between sociality and habitat familiarity is highly important in our constantly changing world to both conservation practice and our understanding of animals'' behaviour in novel environments.     

The relationship between social jetlag and subjective sleep quality: differences in young and middle-aged workers

Sleep and Biological Rhythms - Social jetlag is a recent problem that is associated with a wide range of issues in the context of modern life. However, differences in the effects of social jetlag...