Contested futures: envisioning “Personalized,” “Stratified,” and “Precision” medicine

In recent years, discourses around “personalized,” “stratified,” and “precision” medicine have proliferated. These concepts broadly refer to the translational potential carried by new data-intensive biomedical research modes. Each describes expectations about the future of medicine and healthcare that data-intensive innovation promises to bring forth. The definitions and uses of the concepts are, however, plural, contested and characterized by diverse ideas about the kinds of futures that are desired and desirable. In this paper, we unpack key disputes around the “personalized,” “stratified,” and “precision” terms, and map the epistemic, political and economic contexts that structure them as well as the different roles attributed to patients and citizens in competing future imaginaries. We show the ethical and value baggage embedded within the promises that are manufactured through terminological choices and argue that the context and future-oriented nature of these choices helps to understanding how data-intensive biomedical innovations are made socially meaningful.     

The occurrence of Ambrosia pollen in Rzeszów,Kraków and Poznań, Poland: investigation of trends and possible transport of Ambrosia pollen from Ukraine

Previous studies have shown that ragweed pollen arrives in Poland from sources in the south, in Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Austria. It is likely that ragweed pollen also arrives from sources in the southeast (e.g. Ukraine). This hypothesis was investigated using 13 years of pollen data and back-trajectory analysis. Ambrosia pollen data were collected at three sites in Poland, Rzeszów, Kraków and Poznań. The amount of ragweed pollen recorded at Rzeszów was significantly higher than in Poznań and Kraków. This can be related to either a higher abundance of local populations of Ambrosia in south-east Poland or the proximity of Rzeszów to foreign sources of ragweed pollen. The combined results of pollen measurements and air mass trajectory calculations identified plumes of Ambrosia pollen that were recorded at Rzeszów, Kraków and Poznań on 4 and 5 September 1999 and 3 September 2002. These plumes arrived at the pollen-monitoring sites from an easterly direction, indicating sources of Ambrosia pollen in eastern Poland or Ukraine. This identifies Ukraine as a possible new source of ragweed pollen for Poland and therefore an important source area of Ambrosia pollen on the European Continent.     

Ground wētā in vines of the Awatere Valley,Marlborough: biology,density and distribution

The endemic New Zealand ground wētā (Hemiandrus sp. ‘promontorius’) has a Naturally Uncommon conservation status. This is because of the paucity of information on its density and distribution. Here, the biology, density and distribution of a population of this wētā found in and around vineyards in the Awatere Valley, Marlborough was studied. Wētā density was assessed in vineyards, paddocks and shrublands in this valley. Soil moisture, penetration resistance, pH and organic matter were recorded at locations with and without wētā. Wētā density in vineyards was significantly higher than in either paddocks or shrub habitats. In vineyards, the density of this insect was significantly higher under-vines than in the inter-rows. Higher numbers of this wētā were found in moist soils that required lower force to burrow. Females laid an average of 55 eggs between March and April, which hatched in September. These findings highlight the intersection between agriculture and conservation.     

Bala wāsṭa: aspirant professionals,class-making,and moral narratives of social mobility in Lebanon

While there is a growing anthropological interest in professionals as experts and powerful actors, there is little ethnographic inquiry into invocations of professionalism by less privileged communities. This article examines how professionalism in Lebanon was increasingly appropriated by low-income communities in ways not referring to any particular profession or occupational domain. As a locally defined category, professionalism indexed an urban middle-class subjectivity of performing specific sets of symbolic capital, moral dispositions, and cross-sectarian relationalities. Lebanese civil society, led by middle-class cultural elites, promoted professionalism as a moral alternative to reliance on wāsṭa (intermediary connections through family or kinship), a practice associated with a corrupt sectarian political system. What I call aspirant professionals – young, low-income, university-educated Lebanese – increasingly participated in empowerment NGOs to learn professionalism in pursuit of social mobility and respectability. Aspirant professionals did not simply emulate the middle-class culture of professionalism; rather, their class-making process generated its own moralities, subjectivities, and practices. Through a critical examination of aspirant professional subjectivity, this article contributes to anthropological studies on professionalism, NGOs, and class.     

Nature:毒蘑菇不“毒”,帮助抗癌

<正>有时候癌症研究者们会考虑将来自"死亡之帽"毒蘑菇衍生的毒性α-鹅膏蕈碱作为一种潜在的癌症疗法药物,然而由于α-鹅膏蕈碱会存在引发肝脏毒性的可能,因此其作为有效的疗法往往被认为存在很多限制。近日,一篇刊登在国际杂志Nature上的研究论文中,来自得克萨斯大学MD癌症研究中心的研究人员着眼于开发一种以α-鹅膏蕈碱为基     

“A Massive Long Way”: Interconnecting Histories, a “Special Child,” ADHD, and Everyday Family Life

Focusing on one family from a study of dual-earner middle-class families carried out in Los Angeles, California, this article draws on interview and video-recorded data of everyday interactions to explore illness and healing as embedded in the microcultural context of the Morris family. For this family, an important aspect of what is at stake for them in their daily lives is best understood by focusing on 9-year-old Mark, who has been diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In this article, we grapple with the complexity of conveying some sense of how Mark’s condition is experienced and relationally enacted in everyday contexts. Through illuminating connections between lives as lived and lives as told, we explore the narrative structuring of healing in relation to Mark’s local moral world with the family at its center. We examine how his parents understand the moral consequences of the child’s past for his present and future, and work to encourage others to give due weight to his troubled beginnings before this child joined the Morris family. At the same time, we see how the Morris parents act to structure Mark’s moral experience and orient to a desired future in which Mark’s “success” includes an appreciation of how he is accountable to others for his actions. Through our analyses, we also seek to contribute to discussions on what is at stake in everyday life contexts for children with ADHD and their families, through illuminating aspects of the cultural, moral and relational terrain that U.S. families navigate in contending with a child’s diagnosis of ADHD. Further, given that ADHD is often construed as a “disorder of volition,” we seek to advance anthropological theorizing about the will in situations where volitional control over behavior is seen to be disordered.     

From wetland to commercial centre: the natural history of Wyspa Spichrzów (“Granary Island”) in medieval Gdańsk,northern Poland

This paper describes the analyses of pollen, non-pollen palynomorphs, macroremains and geochemistry in sediments from archaeological excavations at Wyspa Spichrzów (“Granary Island”) in Gdańsk, northern Poland. The aim of this study was to reconstruct the environmental conditions in this part of the town in the period preceding its occupation and during its transformation with the establishment of a trade centre and an increasing number of granaries, warehouses and workshops. The results show that this area was originally covered by wetlands typical of river oxbows, with a landscape formed by alder woods, shallow pools of water, fens and patches of wet meadows. Around the 9th–10th centuries, a distinct lowering of the groundwater table reduced the pools, and the alder stands also reduced. These changes coincided with the Medieval Climatic Anomaly. Drying of the ground could have been an important factor enabling expansion of settlement in the Gdańsk area. Between the 10th and 13th–14th centuries, the area around the investigated sites was probably used as pasture, as shown by high frequencies of coprophilous fungal spores. A large representation of cereal pollen and pollen and macroremains of field weeds reflects crop transport and storage on the island from ca. the 13th/14th centuries in the northern part of the area and the 15th/16th centuries in its southern part. The increasing human impact caused development of a rich flora associated with human activities, habitat enrichment by nitrogen and phosphorus, and heavy metal pollution from the beginning of the 13th century.     

Gender,emotion, and physical distress: The Sicilian-Canadian “nerves” complex

Researchers identify nerves as an idiom of distress, an illness category, a metaphorical device capable of communicating social distress, and a technique for impression management. Much of the literature, however, links nerves to women. In this paper, I address two aspects of the phenomenon which have received limited attention. First, I discuss nerves within the context of Sicilian-Canadian conceptions of anatomy and physiology. Sicilian-Canadians regard nerves as essential components of the human anatomy which, in some cases, may be linked to both physical and psychic distress. Second, I build on this discussion to examine how Sicilian-Canadian males make use of the nerves idiom. The implications of my work include the need to: (1) modify our definition of nerves to recognize formally that we are dealing with a dynamiccomplex consisting of multiple, variable, and ambiguousmeanings — meanings that enable people to confront or cope with a variety of situations; (2) direct greater attention to nerves as an idiom ofphysical distress; and, (3) examine further the role of physical nerves in the social construction of gender.Glossary of terms Battuti Tired or exhausted - Duluri Pain - Gruppata Knotted - Musculidda Little muscle (often used to describe a small lump caused by muscle damage) - Nierbu (s),nierbi (pl) Nerves (depending on the context, however, the term can take on a variety of meanings) - Nierbi abbattuti Tired or Exhausted nerves (e.g., muscles) - Nierbi agruppati Knotted nerves (e.g., muscles). - Nierbi ammollanu Nerves (e.g., muscles) become soft and lax - Nierbi cunsumati Worn or frayed nerve-tissue (e.g., muscles) - Nierbi ngravaccati Entangled nerves (e.g., muscles) - Nirbatura The arrangement or system of nerves (muscles, tendons, ligaments, and other connective tissues) that extend throughout the body - Nirbusu This term can refer to either an emotional state or a folk illness involving a disruption of the nerves and other physiological processes (such as the circulation of the blood) - Nucidda ni lu saccu A small nut [trapped] in a sack. Metaphor used to convey one's frustration and powerlessness - Omertà Manliness. Conducting oneself with respect and honor - Pena Sadness, sorrow, grief - Sangu Blood - Sangu si guasta The blood spoils - Scicata A rub or massage - Spavientu Fright - Spilatura In some cases the term is used to refer simply to strained muscles or tendons. However, it often refers to more serious muscle or sinew damage that involves an accumulation of fluid - Spuvari Release of emotional tension - Suggittata di nierbi Subdued or subjugated by one's nerves. - Tremulu Shaking or trembling sensation     

The politics of “understanding”: secrecy,language, and Manouche song

This article explores how song operates as a forum through which Alsatian Manouches (a subgroup of Romanies/“Gypsies”) negotiate social relations with non-Manouches and with each other. Two of the most salient identity markers for Manouches are music and language. Whereas Manouches regard instrumental music as a legitimate means of engaging with non-Manouche people, it is often considered inappropriate to share their spoken dialect of Romani with others. As a combination of both, Manouche song represents a complex juncture of volition and apprehension towards their interactions with non-Manouches. Drawing on fieldwork among Manouche and non-Manouche performers, I investigate how public Manouche vocal performance ironically connotes an ambivalence towards cross-cultural sharing, and how power relations unfold through varying degrees of linguistic concealment and openness. This article theorizes the (il-)legibility of the voice in music and illustrates how song reflects Manouche language ideologies in flux.     

Metabolism of Some “Second”– and “Fourth”–Generation Antidepressants: Iprindole, Viloxazine, Bupropion, Mianserin, Maprotiline, Trazodone, Nefazodone, and Venlafaxine

1. This review summarizes the major known aspects of the metabolism of second-generation (iprindole, viloxazine, bupropion, mianserin, maprotiline, and trazodone) and fourth-generation (nefazodone and venlafaxine) antidepressants.2. Discussions about specific enzymes involved and about possible pharmacokinetic drug–drug interactions, particularly as they relate to cytochrome P450 enzymes, are provided.     

Apoptosis: mitochondrial membrane permeabilization--the (w)hole story?

One critical step of apoptosis is the release of mitochondrial proteins through the outer mitochondrial membrane. Recent work shows that two pro-apoptotic Bcl-2 family proteins, Bax and Bid, as well as the mitochondrion-specific lipid cardiolipin may cooperate in chemically defined liposomes to generate a protein-permeable conduit, relaunching the debate on the identity of the pore responsible for mitochondrial membrane permeabilization during apoptosis.     

MyoD,a new function: Ensuring “DNA licensing”

Comment on: Zhang K, et al. J Cell Biol 2010; 188:39-48.