Ethnographic empathy and the social context of rights: “rescuing” Maasai girls from early marriage

Esther is one of many young Maasai girls in Kenya "rescued" from early marriage. Her story is conventionally portrayed (trans)nationally and locally as a struggle between conservative pastoral patriarchs and the individual right of young girls to an education. I offer an ethnographic contextualization of the underlying factors giving rise to practices of early marriage, among the Maasai in Enkop, highlighting the contemporary predicaments of pastoralism in the face of population growth, climactic instability, and land-tenure reform and the insecurities and challenges around formal education. Through the intimate portrayal of Esther's case, early marriage is situated not as a relic of tradition and malicious patriarchy but, rather, as a contemporary adaptation to livelihood insecurity. I illustrate how prevailing concepts of "tradition," "culture," "victimhood," and "collective rights" in human rights theory obscure important structural factors that give rise to early marriage and deflect attention from effective policy initiatives.     

No “honeymoon phase”: whose health benefits from retirement and when

Does retirement lead to a short, transitory health boost, followed by a stable longer-run effect? The short-run effect has been hypothesized to be a kind of honeymoon effect, that is followed by a longer-run effect that may be either positive or negative. We examine the time path of the health effect of retirement and study effect heterogeneities between individuals along several dimensions. Moreover, we study a broad range of health outcomes, all in order to come to an understanding of the effect patterns that lie behind the diverse findings reported in previous research. For identification we use a fixed effects instrumental variable approach in which the normal and early retirement age thresholds serve as instruments. Using data for 10 countries from the Survey of Health, Retirement and Ageing in Europe (SHARE), we find that retiring both at the normal and early retirement eligibility ages significantly improves all the health aspects we consider. Other than hypothesized, results do not show a honeymoon phase-like transitory health boost. Instead, especially blue-collar workers go through an adjustment period after retiring, in which their health worsens. Afterwards, health stabilizes and improves, so that retirement has a health preserving effect in the longer run. This beneficial health effect of retirement occurs across all occupational groups, across a range of health outcomes, and for both sexes, though there are a number of heterogeneities between groups regarding which health outcomes are particularly affected.     

Crystal structure of α-galactosidase from Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM: insight into tetramer formation and substrate binding

Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM is a probiotic bacterium known for its beneficial effects on human health. The importance of α-galactosidases (α-Gals) for growth of probiotic organisms on oligosaccharides of the raffinose family present in many foods is increasingly recognized. Here, the crystal structure of α-Gal from L. acidophilus NCFM (LaMel36A) of glycoside hydrolase (GH) family 36 (GH36) is determined by single-wavelength anomalous dispersion. In addition, a 1.58-Å-resolution crystallographic complex with α-d-galactose at substrate binding subsite − 1 was determined. LaMel36A has a large N-terminal twisted β-sandwich domain, connected by a long α-helix to the catalytic (β/α)₈-barrel domain, and a C-terminal β-sheet domain. Four identical monomers form a tightly packed tetramer where three monomers contribute to the structural integrity of the active site in each monomer. Structural comparison of LaMel36A with the monomeric Thermotoga maritima α-Gal (TmGal36A) reveals that O2 of α-d-galactose in LaMel36A interacts with a backbone nitrogen in a glycine-rich loop of the catalytic domain, whereas the corresponding atom in TmGal36A is from a tryptophan side chain belonging to the N-terminal domain. Thus, two distinctly different structural motifs participate in substrate recognition. The tetrameric LaMel36A furthermore has a much deeper active site than the monomeric TmGal36A, which possibly modulates substrate specificity. Sequence analysis of GH36, inspired by the observed structural differences, results in four distinct subgroups having clearly different active-site sequence motifs. This novel subdivision incorporates functional and architectural features and may aid further biochemical and structural analyses within GH36.     

Partial purification and further characterization of the novel endoglucosaminidase from human serum that hydrolyses 4-methylumbelliferyl-N-acetyl-β-d-chitotetraoside (MU-TACT hydrolase)

A novel endoglucosaminidase, originally described by Den Tandt et al. [Int. J. Biochem.20 (1988), 713–719] and bearing the provisional name MU-TACT hydrolase, was purified from human serum 56,000-fold by means of ammonium sulphate precipitation, anion-exchange chromatography, Con A-Sepharose chromatography and gel filtration on Sepharose CL-6B followed by Superose 12HR. Based on the latter technique the native apparent molecular weight of the enzyme appeared to be equal to that of myoglobin, being approx. 17 kD. The enzyme eluted clearly at a different volume than lysozyme. MU-TACT is a commercially available substrate for lysozyme. For unknown reasons two major peptides co-purify that give bands on SDS-PAGE of 55–60 and 31 kD, respectively.     

Gene transfer into satellite cell from regenerating muscle: Bupivacaine allows β-gal transfection and expression in vitro and in vivo

Summary A large bulk of experimental evidence (15) suggests that myogenic cell transfer can be regarded as a promising therapeutic approach in the cure of inherited pathologies. In particular, it has been shown that primary myoblasts obtained from embryonic or neonatal muscles allows the recovery of the normal phenotype in defective muscle tissues. The utilization of this approach in clinical settings still bears heavy limitations. Apart from the legal and ethical difficulties, the use of muscles obtained from aborted fetus is challenged by a large risk of rejection, due to the incompatibility between donor and recipient. In this context based on the genetic alteration and reimplanting of the patient’s own satellite cells, appears an approach attractive. Myoblasts derived from satellite cells are the obligate candidates for experiments, but the production of sufficient cell numbers is a major problem. Local anesthetics [Bupivacaine (1-n-butyl-DL-piperidine-2-carboxylic acid-2, 6-dimethyl anilide hydrochloride) and related molecules] had been used to induce myofiber damage (and thus satellite cells proliferation) and thereby may represent a tool for increasing the yield of myoblasts from adult muscles (1,9,17). We will show that satellite cells obtained from adult muscles after bupivacaine injection can be transfected in vitro and that the transfected gene is expressed in vitro and in vivo, after reimplantation of the modified myoblasts in recipient muscles.     

“One People,One Blood”: Public Health,Political Violence,and HIV in an Ethiopian-Israeli Setting

Between 1984 and 1996, public health authorities in Israel maintained a secret policy of discarding blood donations made by Ethiopian-Israeli citizens and immigrants. Officials later attempted to justify this policy on the grounds that immigrants from Ethiopia were subject to high rates of infectious disease (especially HIV). In 1996, this led to an explosive and violent confrontation between Ethiopian-Israeli protestors and agents of the state, including police and public health authorities. This essay explores the cultural and political context of that confrontation, including the discourse of political violence which it occasioned. The conflict between Ethiopian-Israelis and the state was located within a wider set of political contexts, including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which was linked to it through a shared trope of spilled blood common to both. Cultural analyses which ignore this dynamic political context are in danger of seriously misrepresenting the meaning of the Blood Affair to its participants. At the same time, this essay also engages a critical analysis of the public health policies which led to the crisis. Public health and nationalist discourse reinforced one another at the expense of Ethiopian immigrants in general, and so-called Feres Mura Ethiopians in particular.     

Biological and genetic characterisation of Toxoplasma gondii isolates from chickens (Gallus domesticus) from S?o Paulo, Brazil: unexpected findings.

In spite of a wide host range and a world wide distribution, Toxoplasma gondii has a low genetic diversity. Most isolates of T. gondii can be grouped into two to three lineages. Type I strains are considered highly virulent in outbred laboratory mice, and have been isolated predominantly from clinical cases of human toxoplasmosis whereas types II and III strains are considered avirulent for mice. In the present study, 17 of 25 of the T. gondii isolates obtained from asymptomatic chickens from rural areas surrounding S?o Paulo, Brazil were type I. Antibodies to T. gondii were measured in 82 chicken sera by the modified agglutination test using whole formalin-preserved tachyzoites and mercaptoethanol and titres of 1:10 or more were found in 32 chickens. Twenty-two isolates of T. gondii were obtained by bioassay in mice inoculated with brains and hearts of 29 seropositive (> or =1:40) chickens and three isolates were obtained from the faeces of cats fed tissues from 52 chickens with no or low levels (<1:40) of antibodies. In total, 25 isolates of T. gondii were obtained by bioassay of 82 chicken tissues into mice and cats. All type I isolates killed all infected mice within 4 weeks whereas type III isolates were less virulent to mice. There were no type II strains. Tissue cysts were found in mice infected with all 25 isolates and all nine type I isolates produced oocysts. Infected chickens were from localities that were 18-200 km apart, indicating no common source for T. gondii isolates. This is the first report of isolation of predominantly type I strains of T. gondii from a food animal. Epidemiological implications of these findings are discussed.     

Multispecies biofilms and host responses: “Discriminating the Trees from the Forest”

Periodontal diseases reflect a tissue destructive process of the hard and soft tissues of the periodontium that are initiated by the accumulation of multispecies bacterial biofilms in the subgingival sulcus. This accumulation, in both quantity and quality of bacteria, results in a chronic immunoinflammatory response of the host to control this noxious challenge, leading to collateral damage of the tissues. As knowledge of the characteristics of the host-bacterial interactions in the oral cavity has expanded, new knowledge has become available on the complexity of the microbial challenge and the repertoire of host responses to this challenge. Recent results from the Human Microbiome Project continue to extend the array of taxa, genera, and species of bacteria that inhabit the multiple niches in the oral cavity; however, there is rather sparse information regarding variations in how host cells discriminate commensal from pathogenic species, as well as how the host response is affected by the three-dimensional architecture and interbacterial interactions that occur in the oral biofilms. This review provides some insights into these processes by including existing literature on the biology of nonoral bacterial biofilms, and the more recent literature just beginning to document how the oral cavity responds to multispecies biofilms.     

Comments on “Vitamin Pharmacogenomics:New Insight into Individual Differences in Diseases and Drug Responses”

<正>Dear Editor,I would like to offer some comments on the excellent article by Hai-Yan He and colleagues published in Genomics,ProteomicsBioinformatics on 1st April 2017[1].The authors include,in the list of genetic polymorphisms that have an effect on vitamins,the low concentrations of cellular and plasma vitamin B12in GG carriers of SNP rs602662(772 GA)in the gene encoding fucosyltransferase 2(FUT2).     

The “Bear” Essentials: Actualistic Research on Ursus arctos arctos in the Spanish Pyrenees and Its Implications for Paleontology and Archaeology

Neotaphonomic studies of large carnivores are used to create models in order to explain the formation of terrestrial vertebrate fossil faunas. The research reported here adds to the growing body of knowledge on the taphonomic consequences of large carnivore behavior in temperate habitats and has important implications for paleontology and archaeology. Using photo- and videotrap data, we were able to describe the consumption of 17 ungulate carcasses by wild brown bears (Ursus arctos arctos) ranging the Spanish Pyrenees. Further, we analyzed the taphonomic impact of these feeding bouts on the bones recovered from those carcasses. The general sequence of consumption that we charted starts with separation of a carcass’s trunk; viscera are generally eaten first, followed by musculature of the humerus and femur. Long limb bones are not broken open for marrow extraction. Bears did not transport carcasses or carcass parts from points of feeding and did not disperse bones appreciably (if at all) from their anatomical positions. The general pattern of damage that resulted from bear feeding includes fracturing, peeling, crenulation, tooth pitting and scoring of axial and girdle elements and furrowing of the upper long limb bones. As predicted from observational data, the taphonomic consequences of bear feeding resemble those of other non-durophagus carnivores, such as felids, and are distinct from those of durophagus carnivores, such as hyenids. Our results have paleontological and archaeological relevance. Specifically, they may prove useful in building analogical models for interpreting the formation of fossil faunas for which bears are suspected bone accumulators and/or modifiers. More generally, our comparative statistical analyses draw precise quantitative distinctions between bone damage patterns imparted respectively by durophagus (modelled here primarily by spotted hyenas [Crocuta crocuta] and wolves [Canis lupus]) and non-durophagus (modelled here by brown bears and lions [Panthera leo]) carnivorans.     

Distribution of some calanoida (Crustacea: Copepoda) from the Yucatán Peninsula, Belize and Guatemala

Southern Mexico and Central America have many water bodies of different morphology and water chemistry with an interesting zooplankton fauna, originating from North or South America. A set of 63 samples, taken in 2005 and 2008, from water bodies of the Yucatan Peninsula karst, Belize and Guatemala, were studied for the content of calanoid copepods. Old and recent literature was used to determine animals to species level. Drawings were prepared with a microscope and a camera lucida. A total of 32 samples with totally six species contained calanoid copepods: one estuarine pseudodiaptomid and five freshwater diaptomids. Pseudodiaptomus marshi was found at different salinities. It is confirmed that the commonest diaptomids in the Yucatan Peninsula are Arctodiaptomus dorsalis and Mastigodiaptomus nesus. The former was also recorded from Lake Amatitlan. Mastigodiaptomus nesus is as widespread as A. dorsalis but it is absent from the Lake Peten area in Guatemala. Mastigodiaptomus reidae was found in two shallow habitats, these specimens differ from those from the type locality by having a set of peculiar large spine-like processes on the last thoracic and the urosome segments of the females. Leptodiaptomus siciloides was found only in Lake Ayarza with high salinity. Prionodiaptomus colombiensis occurred in the highlands of Guatemala in Lago de Güija and in the Peten area in Laguna Sacpuy. We contributed with our occurrence records to a better knowledge of the geographic distribution of some calanoid copepods. Morphological findings in some species are of value for taxonomic differentiation between species.     

Oleanane-type glycosides from Weigela x Styriaca and two cultivars of W. florida: “Minor black” and “Brigela”

Sixteen oleanane-type glycosides were extracted from three Weigela hybrids and cultivars: W. x Styriaca, W. florida “Minor black” and W. florida “Brigela”, and four of them were previously undescribed ones: 3-O-β-D-xylopyranosyl-(1→4)-β-D-xylopyranosyl-(1→3)-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1→2)-β-D-xylopyranosyloleanolic acid, 3-O-β-D-xylopyranosyl-(1→4)-β-D-xylopyranosyl-(1→3)-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1→2)-α-L-arabinopyranosyloleanolic acid, 3-O-β-D-xylopyranosyl-(1→4)-β-D-xylopyranosyl-(1→4)-β-D-xylopyranosyl-(1→3)-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1→2)-α-L-arabinopyranosyloleanolic acid, and 3-O-β-D-xylopyranosyl-(1→4)-β-D-xylopyranosyl-(1→4)-β-D-xylopyranosyl-(1→4)-β-D-xylopyranosyl-(1→3)-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1→2)-α-L-arabinopyranosyloleanolic acid. Their full structural elucidation required extensive 1D and 2D NMR experiments, as well as mass spectrometry analysis. Six compounds among the known ones were in sufficient amount to be tested for their antifungal activity against Candida albicans, and their antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.     

Author's Reply:Comments on “Vitamin Pharmacogenomics:New Insight into Individua Differences in Diseases and Drug Responses”

<正>Dear Editor,We thank the author for making meaningful comments on our recent article[1].The SNP 772GA(rs602662)in exon 2 of the gene encoding fucosyl transferase(FUT2)has been found to be related with the alterations in plasma vitamin B_(12) levels.     

Proteostasis and “redoxtasis” in the secretory pathway: Tales of tails from ERp44 and immunoglobulins

In multicellular organisms, some cells are given the task of secreting huge quantities of proteins. To comply with their duty, they generally equip themselves with a highly developed endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and downstream organelles in the secretory pathway. These professional secretors face paramount proteostatic challenges in that they need to couple efficiency and fidelity in their secretory processes. On one hand, stringent quality control (QC) mechanisms operate from the ER onward to check the integrity of the secretome. On the other, the pressure to secrete can be overwhelming, as for instance on antibody-producing cells during infection. Maintaining homeostasis is particularly hard when the products to be released contain disulfide bonds, because oxidative folding entails production of reactive oxygen species. How are redox homeostasis (“redoxtasis”) and proteostasis maintained despite the massive fluxes of cargo proteins traversing the pathway? Here we describe recent findings on how ERp44, a multifunctional chaperone of the secretory pathway, can modulate these processes integrating protein QC, redoxtasis, and calcium signaling.