Search Results (28)

Murine microglia exhibit rapid self-renewal upon removal from the postnatal brain. However, the signaling pathways that regulate microglial repopulation remain largely unclear. To address this knowledge gap, we depleted microglia from mixed glial cultures using anti-CD11b magnetic particles and cultured them for 4 weeks to monitor their repopulation ability in vitro. Flow cytometry and immunocytochemistry revealed that anti-CD11b bead treatment effectively eliminated >95% of microglia in mixed glial cultures. Following removal, the number of CX3CR1-positive microglia gradually increased; when a specific threshold was reached, repopulation ceased without any discernable rise in cell death. Cell cycle and 5-ethynyl-2′-deoxyuridine incorporation assays suggested the active proliferation of repopulating microglia at d7. Time-lapse imaging demonstrated post-removal division of microglia. Colony-stimulating factor 1 receptor-phosphoinositide 3-kinase-protein kinase B signaling was identified as crucial for microglial repopulation, as pharmacological inhibition or neutralization of the pathway significantly abrogated repopulation. Transwell cocultures revealed that resident microglia competitively inhibited microglial proliferation probably through contact inhibition. This in vitro microglial removal system provides valuable insights into the mechanisms underlying microglial proliferation. Full article

In recent years, we have seen social movement-based calls for social justice and decolonisation in universities around the world. Some of these have been in response to specific events such as the murder of George Floyd in 2020, while others are rooted in longer standing social movements such as Rhodes Must Fall. These movements have served as catalysts for universities to rethink their commitments to social justice. This article presents the preliminary findings of a university-wide research initiative focused on understanding student and staff perceptions of decolonisation and their aspirations for decolonial work within a post-1992 institution in the United Kingdom. Positioned within the university’s broader commitments to anti-racism and as part of a student–staff partnership project focused on interrogating contemporary coloniality, this research investigates how participants understand and experience decolonial initiatives as well as the perceived impact of these efforts on curriculum, relationships, and institutional culture. By conducting a survey, we sought to unravel the complexities surrounding how students and staff conceptualise decolonisation, articulate their aspirations for decolonial initiatives, and envision the potential of student–staff partnerships as catalysts for transformative social justice work within the university. This study aims to enrich the discourse on social justice work in higher education by offering a critical lens on decolonial efforts and highlighting opportunities for collective action to rethink knowledge production and pedagogical practices. Grounded in the belief that decolonial research partnerships between students and staff are essential, the survey and article were developed by six researchers—three staff members and three students. Full article

AI/AN communities are disproportionately impacted by food insecurity and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Decreasing the risk of GDM can interrupt the intergenerational cycle of diabetes in AI/AN families, and can decrease diabetes-related health disparities. The goal of this study was to explore ways of supporting holistic health and reducing the risk of GDM among young American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) females prior to pregnancy. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with adult AI/AN women (>18 years) who had GDM or who have young female relatives (e.g., daughters) (n = 41), AI/AN females between 12 and 24 years (n = 18), and key experts in food/nutrition and health within AI/AN communities (n = 32). Three themes emerged: (1) guidance on how to support young females’ holistic wellness; (2) evidence that generations of colonial violence, including forced removal, forced poverty, and the imposition of a Western-based food system, causes deeper, systemic fracturing of traditional cultural food knowledge and practices; and the fact that (3) opportunities for improved adolescent female health are rooted in AI/AN values and how AI/AN people resist the impacts of anti-Indigenous racism through family-based, community-led, and holistic health. These themes suggest alternative understandings about the relationships between food insecurity and holistic pre-pregnancy health and can guide our next steps in decreasing health disparities in these communities. Full article

Taking settler-environmental interest in Indigenous traditional ecological knowledge (ITEK) as a case study, this paper critically examines some ethico-political pitfalls that can accompany attempts to undiscipline the conceptual and academic boundaries between religion and science. Although settler interest in ITEK appears to heed calls to center Indigenous perspectives in response to ecological crises, I argue that in practice such turns repeatedly enact neocolonial maneuvers that risk obfuscating and exacerbating the settler-colonial status quo. Employing the analytic of biocolonialism, I focus in particular on the discursive construction of Indigenous knowledge as a universal good that any interested parties might access and circulate. I criticize this conception on anti-colonial grounds and propose that it depends on a picture of knowledge as such as an apolitical commodity. By way of parochializing that conception and loosening its grip on the settler-environmental imagination, I examine expressions of Indigenous epistemic resistance which generate a competing picture of knowledge as anti-public or secret. I conclude by suggesting that this second picture invites settler environmentalists to cultivate capacities of going without ITEK and claiming that analysts should continue to pursue the sort of critical and constructive work performed here if experiments in undisciplining are to cohere with anti-colonialism. Full article

Water resources management and the broad concept of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) attract varied perspectives about their effectiveness and equity as they address diverse needs across sectors and contextual situations. Managers in the water sector generally support their current governance models, while anti-poverty advocates seek more equity in the distribution of resources. Another group of stakeholders claims a lack of inclusivity in decision-making, leading to inequitable outcomes due to hegemony and colonialization of the water management domain by sector experts, officials, and other actors. IWRM focuses on reforms in water governance to achieve greater participation and sharing of power by all sectors of society in decision-making. It can facilitate the involvement of all groups of stakeholders, including those who may in some cases need to engage in social action to address water issues. This paper reviews the claims about the validity of IWRM and analyzes them according to management scenarios where water is a connector among sector issues. The scenarios show that participation in utility and local government decisions is the main pathway for urban water, wastewater, and stormwater management, while the same pathway is more difficult to organize in dispersed situations for domestic supply and irrigation in rural areas, some cases of aquifer management, and management of sprawling flood risk zones. The body of knowledge about participation in water resources management is robust, but organizational and financial capacities among existing entities pose barriers. Water resources management and IWRM do involve hegemony, and the field of practice has been colonialized, but the existential issues and complexity of the decisions and systems involved challenge society to manage successfully while assuring equity and participation through governance reform. The debates over hegemony and colonialization in water management provide an opportunity to continue improving the norms of practice and water resources education. Full article

Aspergillus flavus and its carcinogenic secondary metabolites, aflatoxins, not only cause serious losses in the agricultural economy, but also endanger human health. Rhein, a compound extracted from the Chinese herbal medicine Rheum palmatum L. (Dahuang), exhibits good anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, and anti-oxidative effects. However, its effect and underlying mechanisms against Aspergillus flavus have not yet been fully illustrated. In this study, we characterized the inhibition effect of rhein on A. flavus mycelial growth, sporulation, and aflatoxin B₁ (AFB₁) biosynthesis and the potential mechanism using RNA-seq analysis. The results indicate that A. flavus mycelial growth and AFB₁ biosynthesis were significantly inhibited by 50 μM rhein, with a 43.83% reduction in colony diameter and 87.2% reduction in AFB₁ production. The RNA-seq findings demonstrated that the differentially expressed genes primarily participated in processes such as spore formation and development, the maintenance of cell wall and membrane integrity, management of oxidative stress, the regulation of the citric acid cycle, and the biosynthesis of aflatoxin. Biochemical verification experiments further confirmed that 50 μM rhein effectively disrupted cell wall and membrane integrity and caused mitochondrial dysfunction through disrupting energy metabolism pathways, leading to decreased ATP synthesis and ROS accumulation, resulting in impaired aflatoxin biosynthesis. In addition, a pathogenicity test showed that 50 μM rhein inhibited A. flavus spore growth in peanut and maize seeds by 34.1% and 90.4%, while AFB₁ biosynthesis was inhibited by 60.52% and 99.43%, respectively. In conclusion, this research expands the knowledge regarding the antifungal activity of rhein and provides a new strategy to mitigate A. flavus contamination. Full article

Diverse actors, including foreign and national states, international agencies, donors, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and private ventures, demand, fund, and implement anti-trafficking activities worldwide. Bissau-Guinean Quran schoolboys begging in Senegalese cities are defined as victims of child trafficking, and their teachers as traffickers. This article aims to explore the Quran teachers’ understanding of begging and their response to being accused of child trafficking. It rests on data collected during anthropological fieldwork in Guinea-Bissau and Senegal since 2009, including interviews and participation in religious events. The Quran teachers, some of whom admit colleagues might exploit their students, highlight four aspects of begging: allowing poor populations economically to study the Quran; contributing to humbleness, humility, and empathy with underprivileged groups; redistributing resources across generations; and allowing the acquisition of knowledge, liberation, and power. They maintain that the NGOs are profiting from funds provided to “rescue” the students and act as real traffickers, and together with funders, they aim to eliminate Islam. Embedded in layers of coloniality, the Quran teachers keep their position as community leaders. Banning begging is bound to fail if the anti-trafficking NGOs ignore their understanding of meaningful suffering and begging, including the economic and religious aspects of alms-seeking and its reciprocal nature. Full article

Infertility is a globally underestimated public health concern affecting almost 190 million people, i.e., about 17.5% of people during their lifetime, while the prevalence of male factor infertility is about 7%. Among numerous other causes, the prevalence of male genital tract infections reportedly ranges between 10% and 35%. Leukocytospermia is found in 30% of infertile men and up to 20% in fertile men. Bacterial infections cause an inflammatory response attracting leukocytes, which produce reactive oxygen species (ROS) and release cytokines, both of which can cause damage to sperm, rendering them dysfunctional. Although leukocytospermia and bacteriospermia are both clinical conditions that can negatively affect male fertility, there is still debate about their impact on assisted reproduction outcomes and management. According to World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, leukocytes should be determined by means of the Endtz test or with monoclonal antibodies against CD15, CD68 or CD22. The cut-off value proposed by the WHO is 1 × 10⁶ peroxidase-positive cells/mL. For bacteria, Gram staining and semen culture are regarded as the “gold standard”, while modern techniques such as PCR and next-generation sequencing (NGS) are allowing clinicians to detect a wider range of pathogens. Whereas the WHO manual does not specify a specific value as a cut-off for bacterial contamination, several studies consider semen samples with more than 10³ colony-forming units (cfu)/mL as bacteriospermic. The pathogenic mechanisms leading to sperm dysfunction include direct interaction of bacteria with the male germ cells, bacterial release of spermatotoxic substances, induction of pro-inflammatory cytokines and ROS, all of which lead to oxidative stress. Clinically, bacterial infections, including “silent” infections, are treatable, with antibiotics being the treatment of choice. Yet, non-steroidal antiphlogistics or antioxidants should also be considered to alleviate inflammatory lesions and improve semen quality. In an assisted reproduction set up, sperm separation techniques significantly reduce the bacterial load in the semen. Nonetheless, contamination of the semen sample with skin commensals should be prevented by applying relevant hygiene techniques. In patients where leukocytospermia is detected, the causes (e.g. infection, inflammation, varicocele, smoking, etc.) of the leukocyte infiltration have to be identified and addressed with antibiotics, anti-inflammatories or antioxidants in cases where high oxidative stress levels are detected. However, no specific strategy is available for the management of leukocytospermia. Therefore, the relationship between bacteriospermia and leukocytospermia as well as their specific impact on functional sperm parameters and reproductive outcome variables such as fertilization or clinical pregnancy must be further investigated. The aim of this narrative review is to provide an update on the current knowledge on leukocytospermia and bacteriospermia and their impact on male fertility. Full article

The depiction of Andean religion in the Comentarios reales de los incas (1609, 1617) has centered on Garcilaso de la Vega’s providential interpretation of Inca pagan governance and the influence of the Christian humanist traditions that he mastered as an adult in Spain. However, scholars have not adequately recognized his attention to the ecclesiastical debates regarding the persistence of Inca cult beliefs and practices in the colonial Andean society of his day. This paper examines a new source for understanding the chronicler’s portrayal of Inca religion, the catechisms and canon decrees of South America’s definitive post-Tridentine assembly, the Third Provincial Council of Lima (1582–1583), which established the Church’s official stance on the fundamental “idolatry” of Inca morality and ritual customs and the need for their extirpation. It will be argued that Garcilaso’s knowledge of natural and canon law provided the basis for his defense of the Incas’ religion and justice system and his criticisms of the anti-Inca tenor of the council’s directives on Andean custom and intercultural dialogue. The chronicler’s response to the council’s pronouncements on the ritual of penance, in particular, offers novel insights about the indigenous reception of the Church’s missionary regime within an orthodox and culturally-integrated vision for Andean Christianity. Full article

Development actors in West Africa have been promoting agroecological farming as a solution to combat climate change and to create more sovereign food systems that enhance the autonomy of local smallholders. However, there is a lack of empirical evidence regarding the actual implementation of such programs and their potential to empower smallholders, especially in the West African region. Drawing on co-produced knowledge from anthropological fieldwork in Western Senegal, the case study of an alternative food network explores the interlinkages between the promotion of agroecology, anti-migration policies, and unequal power and market relations. Informed by decolonial political ecologies, the analysis reveals different layers of coloniality which complicate embodied effects on horticultural smallholders. The authors conclude that instead of fostering the emancipation of smallholders, development actors promote a labor-intensive and unprofitable way of farming that exploits local resources for the sake of green agendas and white markets. This article highlights the need for a critical reflection on the potential limitations of agroecology and calls for a more nuanced approach that considers the complex realities of smallholders in West Africa. Full article

Radiotherapy (RT) is one of the main treatments for head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs). Unfortunately, radioresistance is observed in many cases of HNSCCs. The effectiveness of RT depends on both the direct effect inducing cell death and the indirect effect of changing the tumor microenvironment (TME). Knowledge of interactions between TME components after RT may help to design a new combined treatment with RT. In the study, we investigated the effect of RT on cell survival and cell secretion in a co-culture model of HNSCCs in vitro. We examined changes in cell proliferation, colony formation, cell cycle phases, type of cell death, cell migration and secretion after irradiation. The obtained results suggest that the presence of fibroblasts and endothelial cells in co-culture with HNSCCs inhibits the function of cell cycle checkpoints G₁/S and G₂/M and allows cells to enter the next phase of the cell cycle. We showed an anti-apoptotic effect in co-culture of HNSCCs with fibroblasts or endothelial cells in relation to the execution phase of apoptosis, although we initially observed increased activation of the early phase of apoptosis in the co-cultures after irradiation. We hypothesize that the anti-apoptotic effect depends on increased secretion of IL-6 and MCP-1. Full article

Since the late 1970s, the term Orientalism has been closely associated with Edward Said (d. 2003) and his influential monograph of the same name. First published in 1978, Orientalism advanced a number of critiques about the discipline of “Oriental Studies”, its frequently condescending portrayal and depiction of the Eastern world, and the complex relationship between knowledge and power in the context of the Middle East. As revolutionary as a number of Said’s theses have been, in his critique of Orientalism and in particular his penetrating analysis of the relationship between knowledge and power, Said was not breaking entirely new ground. In fact, seven decades earlier, a voice from the Orient itself, the Persian Bahā’ī scholar Mīrzā Abu’l-Faḍā’il-i Gulpāyigānī (d. 1914), expressed a similar, albeit embryonic, critique of Orientalism. Abu’l-Faḍā’il’s analysis, presented in the opening chapters of his final book Kashfu’l-Ghiṭā’, focused on one of the foremost Orientalists of his time, the Cambridge scholar Edward Granville Browne (d. 1926). Rather than studying the extent to which Browne fits the paradigm of Orientalism (a topic some scholars have previously expressed views on), this article explores ways in which Abu’l-Faḍā’il’s critique of Browne’s study of the Orient can be viewed as a nascent prefiguration of some of the theses developed and advanced by Said decades later. Gulpāyigānī’s precedence as a Bahā’ī scholar in discerning and addressing the link between Western scholars’ knowledge production and the colonial power relations of their respective governments with the countries or areas they studied, helps correct a misconception forged about Bahā’īs. Historical narratives produced in anti-Bahā’ī polemics decades after Gulpāyigānī’s death created a master-narrative that cast Bahā’īs as agents of colonial powers, sweeping under the rug counterarguments such as those posed by Gulpāyigānī’s critique. The authors of this article have been motivated by this corrective goal. Full article

The success of energy transition relies on what happens in the contact zone, the area between citizens and municipality governments, which still awaits more thorough research. This article employs the concept of the contact zone both as a theory describing processes of developing energy prosumerism on a local level, and as a research method which enables one to uncover phenomena that are critical to attaining climate objectives. The research field was the Warmia and Mazury Province in Poland, which is the region with the lowest socio-economic potential both in Poland and in the European Union. The analyzed contact zone was divided into two parts: the human administrative legal contact zone and the more-than-human energy contact zone. To describe the relationships occurring in these subzones, the authors used empirical data originating from a survey addressed to citizens living in the above province. The aim was to explore the respondents’ knowledge about current prosumption processes and the opportunities to implement them in the local government sector. Multiple correspondence analysis was used to analyze the data. The main findings were the low knowledge of citizens about prosumption, which was represented by a large number of the prosumption principles not indicated by the respondents, and—on the other hand—the evidence that local communities expect the implementation of digital prosumption, which they know from the market sector, in public administration. It was also demonstrated that the absence of citizens’ involvement in the energy transition is a consequence of two historic colonialisms, German and Russian, which had a huge influence on the emergence of an autocratic management style in the analyzed region. Comparison of the analyzed contact zones with two reference zones showed that grassroots movements in the province are initiated mainly by external factors of a nationwide character. In the Warmia and Mazury contact zones, civic initiatives are in the early stage of development, although they display all features of developed zones, such as autoethnographic gestures, transculturation, struggle, violence, and anti-conquest. Full article

Cats are susceptible to coronavirus infections, including infection by human severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV). In human ABO system blood groups, alloantibodies can play a direct role in resistance to infectious diseases. Individuals with the AB blood type were over-represented in the SARS-CoV-2 infection group. Blood type AB individuals lack both anti-A and anti-B antibodies, and therefore lack the protective effect against SARS-CoV-2 infection given by these antibodies. Starting from this knowledge, this pilot preliminary study evaluated a possible association between feline blood phenotypes A, B, and AB and serostatus for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in cats. We also investigated selected risk or protective factors associated with seropositivity for this coronavirus. A feline population of 215 cats was analysed for AB group system blood phenotypes and antibodies against the nucleocapsid (N-protein) SARS-CoV-2 antigen using a double antigen ELISA. SARS-CoV-2 seropositive samples were confirmed using a surrogate virus neutralization test (sVNT). Origin (stray colony/shelter/owned cat), breed (DSH/non DSH), gender (male/female), reproductive status (neutered/intact), age class (kitten/young adult/mature adult/senior), retroviruses status (seropositive/seronegative), and blood phenotype (A, B, and AB) were evaluated as protective or risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity. Seropositivity for antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 N-protein was recorded in eight cats, but only four of these tested positive with sVNT. Of these four SARS-CoV-2 seropositive cats, three were blood phenotype A and one was phenotype AB. Young adult age (1–6 years), FeLV seropositivity and blood type AB were significantly associated with SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity according to a univariate analysis, but only blood type AB (p = 0.0344, OR = 15.4, 95%CI: 1.22–194.39) and FeLV seropositivity (p = 0.0444, OR = 13.2, 95%CI: 1.06–163.63) were significant associated risk factors according to a logistic regression. Blood phenotype AB might be associated with seropositivity for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. This could be due, as in people, to the protective effect of naturally occurring alloantibodies to blood type antigens which are lacking in type AB cats. The results of this pilot study should be considered very preliminary, and we suggest the need for further research to assess this potential relationship. Full article

Giant cell arteritis (GCA) is the most frequent primary large-vessel vasculitis in individuals older than 50. Glucocorticoids (GCs) are considered the cornerstone of treatment. GC therapy is usually tapered over months according to clinical symptoms and inflammatory marker levels. Considering the high rate of GC-related adverse events in these older individuals, immunosuppressive treatments and biologic agents have been proposed as add-on therapies. Methotrexate was considered an alternative option, but its clinical impact was limited. Other immunosuppressants failed to demonstrate a significant favourable benefit/risk ratio. The approval of tocilizumab, an anti-interleukin 6 (IL-6) receptor inhibitor brought significant improvement. Indeed, tocilizumab had a noticeable effect on cumulative GCs’ dose and relapse prevention. After the improvement in pathophysiological knowledge, other targeted therapies have been proposed, with anti-IL-12/23, anti-IL-17, anti-IL-1, anti-cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4, Janus kinase inhibitors or anti-granulocyte/macrophage colony stimulating factor therapies. These therapies are currently under evaluation. Interestingly, mavrilimumab, ustekinumab and, to a lesser extent, abatacept have shown promising results in phase 2 randomised controlled trials. Despite this recent progress, the value, specific condition and optimal application of each treatment remain undecided. In this review, we discuss the scientific rationale for each treatment and the therapeutic strategy. Full article