An Iranian migrant mother's production of selves through her family photograph collection

In researching migrant identities, visual methodology offers much promise and yet there is a marked lack of recent research that makes use of visual methods. Previous studies of migrant identities have privileged verbal representations of identities. Gillian Rose's (2010) work with mothers and their family photographs in the United Kingdom, in which she describes the role of family photographs in both producing social subject positions and in maintaining family togetherness across distances, is a useful model for research into the construction and negotiation of migrant identities.

The literature on family photography suggests that it is usually the woman/mother who takes on the role of making the family photograph album; of narrating the family's story (Rose, 2010; Holland, 2009; 1991; Chambers, 2003). The family photograph collection, together with the participant's interwoven verbal interpretation, is a particularly relevant data source for use in identity research as there is the potential for key themes of place, mobilities and space to be explored at new depth and from a feminist perspective.

This paper will report on an ethics approved study of one Iranian migrant mother and her family photograph collection, focusing on her representation of the identities and subjectivities of herself and her children through photographs taken following migration to Australia. The paper will consider the participant's family photographs as both visual objects and visual-verbal narratives produced within historically and culturally situated discourses. It will explore how photographs and oral interpretations cohere to enable migrant mothers to re/produce selves. The paper will examine the production of subject positions specifically in relation to place, mobilities and space.

The research is situated within critical visual ethnography and is informed by a reflexive feminist approach. The meaning making of the photographs under study will be explored at the sites of production, image, and audience. The combined visual-verbal methods used in this study aim to provide a new contribution to the literature on migrant identities and form the basis of a scaled up research design of a larger cohort of mothers.

A glycosyl hydrolase family 16 gene is responsible for the endogenous production of β-1,3-glucanases within decapod crustaceans

To identify the gene responsible for the production of a β-1,3-glucanase (laminarinase) within crustacea, a glycosyl hydrolase family 16 (GHF16) gene was sequenced from the midgut glands of the gecarcinid land crab, Gecarcoidea natalis and the freshwater crayfish, Cherax destructor. An open reading frame of 1098bp for G. natalis and 1095bp for C. destructor was sequenced from cDNA. For G. natalis and C. destructor respectively, this encoded putative proteins of 365 and 364 amino acids with molecular masses of 41.4 and 41.5kDa. mRNA for an identical GHF16 protein was also expressed in the haemolymph of C. destructor. These putative proteins contained binding and catalytic domains that are characteristic of a β-1,3-glucanase from glycosyl hydrolase family 16. The amino acid sequences of two short 8-9 amino acid residue peptides from a previously purified β-1,3-glucanase from G. natalis matched exactly that of the putative protein sequence. This plus the molecular masses of the putative proteins matching that of the purified proteins strongly suggests that the sequences obtained encode for a catalytically active β-1,3-glucanase. A glycosyl hydrolase family 16 cDNA was also partially sequenced from the midgut glands of other amphibious (Mictyrisplatycheles and Paragrapsus laevis) and terrestrial decapod species (Coenobita rugosus, Coenobita perlatus, Coenobita brevimanus and Birgus latro) to confirm that the gene is widely expressed within this group. There are three possible hypothesised functions and thus evolutionary routes for the β-1,3-glucanase: 1) a digestive enzyme which hydrolyses β-1,3-glucans, 2) an enzyme which cleaves β-1,3-glycosidic bonds within cell walls to release cell contents or 3) an immune protein which can hydrolyse the cell walls of potentially pathogenic micro-organisms.

The process of constructing new competencies in the family agricultural production unit

This article discusses the difficulties dairy farmers face when they decide to install a new type of production on their units. We intend to discuss the nature of the new competencies the farmers will construct in order to install new production ateliers, and to show the complexity of the means they used, the difficulties they face in this process, and the strategies farmers develop in consonance with the practical knowledge of their profession. The method used was Ergonomic Work Analysis, together with semi-structured interviews, done after sessions of observation and work analysis. The results show that it is possible to apprehend a part of the complexity of the process of constructing competencies among dairy farmers, the diversity of kinds of resources they mobilize, integrate and transfer in this construction process that materializes through their activities in the work context.

Pharmacological screening and biotecnological production of alkaloids from tissues and cells cultured by plants of the Amaryllidaceae family.

In this work particular attention was given to the study of secondary metabolites produced by some plants belonging to the Amaryllidaceae family, in the specific case isoquinoline alkaloids. At the first instance were characterized both qualitatively and quantitatively three different plants belonging to Amaryllidaceae family, such as: Crinum angustum Steud., Pancratium illyricum L., and Leucojum nicaeense Ard. The alkaloids extracts obtained were separately tested against enzymes involved in specific diseases or liable in multifactorial pathologies, like: MMPs, AChE,and PPO. From leaves extract of P.illyricum was isolated a new compound, 11α-hydroxy-O-methylleucotamine, with important role in AChE inbition. Considering the protection role against external bodies carried out by these metabolites in plant, extracts were also assayed against ATCC microorganisms and clinical isolates. Plants with promising pharmacological activities have been the basis for development of in vitro plant models.

The roles of family history of dyslexia, language, speech production and phonological processing in predicting literacy progress

It is well established that speech, language and phonological skills are closely associated with literacy, and that children with a family risk of dyslexia (FRD) tend to show deficits in each of these areas in the preschool years. This paper examines what the relationships are between FRD and these skills, and whether deficits in speech, language and phonological processing fully account for the increased risk of dyslexia in children with FRD. One hundred and fifty-three 4-6-year-old children, 44 of whom had FRD, completed a battery of speech, language, phonology and literacy tasks. Word reading and spelling were retested 6 months later, and text reading accuracy and reading comprehension were tested 3 years later. The children with FRD were at increased risk of developing difficulties in reading accuracy, but not reading comprehension. Four groups were compared: good and poor readers with and without FRD. In most cases good readers outperformed poor readers regardless of family history, but there was an effect of family history on naming and nonword repetition regardless of literacy outcome, suggesting a role for speech production skills as an endophenotype of dyslexia. Phonological processing predicted spelling, while language predicted text reading accuracy and comprehension. FRD was a significant additional predictor of reading and spelling after controlling for speech production, language and phonological processing, suggesting that children with FRD show additional difficulties in literacy that cannot be fully explained in terms of their language and phonological skills. It is well established that speech, language and phonological skills are closely associated with literacy, and that children with a family risk of dyslexia (FRD) tend to show deficits in each of these areas in the preschool years. This paper examines what the relationships are between FRD and these skills, and whether deficits in speech, language and phonological processing fully account for the increased risk of dyslexia in children with FRD. One hundred and fifty-three 4-6-year-old children, 44 of whom had FRD, completed a battery of speech, language, phonology and literacy tasks. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Alkaloid production and capacity for methyljasmonate induction by hairy roots of two species in Tribe Anthocercideae, family Solanaceae

In addition to producing medicinally important tropane alkaloids, some species in the mainly Australian Solanaceous tribe Anthocercideae, sister to genus Nicotiana, are known to also contain substantial levels of the pyridine alkaloids nicotine and nornicotine. Here, we demonstrate that axenic hairy root cultures of two tribe Anthocercideae species, Cyphanthera tasmanica Miers and Anthocercis ilicifolia ssp. ilicifolia Hook, contain considerable amounts of both nicotine and nornicotine (∼0.5-1% DW), together with lower levels of the tropane alkaloid hyoscyamine (<0.2% DW). Treatment of growing hairy roots of both species with micromolar levels of the wound stress hormone methyl-jasmonate (MeJa) led to significant increases (P<0.05) in pyridine alkaloid concentrations but not of hyoscyamine. Consistent with previous studies involving Nicotiana species, we also observed that transcript levels of key genes required for pyridine alkaloid synthesis increased in hairy roots of both Anthocercideae species following MeJa treatment. We hypothesise that wound-associated induction of pyridine alkaloid synthesis in extant species of tribe Anthocercideae and genus Nicotiana was a feature of common ancestral stock that existed before the separation of both lineages ∼15million years ago.

Micro-family-owned business : transitory survival mechanism or long term wealth creator?

Principal Topic: Entrepreneurship is key to employment, innovation and growth (Acs & Mueller, 2008), and as such, has been the subject of tremendous research in both the economic and management literatures since Solow (1957), Schumpeter (1934, 1943), and Penrose (1959). The presence of entrepreneurs in the economy is a key factor in the success or failure of countries to grow (Audretsch and Thurik, 2001; Dejardin, 2001). Further studies focus on the conditions of existence of entrepreneurship, influential factors invoked are historical, cultural, social, institutional, or purely economic (North, 1997; Thurik 1996 & 1999). Of particular interest, beyond the reasons behind the existence of entrepreneurship, are entrepreneurial survival and good ''performance'' factors. Using cross-country firm data analysis, La Porta & Schleifer (2008) confirm that informal micro-businesses provide on average half of all economic activity in developing countries. They find that these are utterly unproductive compared to formal firms, and conclude that the informal sector serves as a social security net ''keep[ing] millions of people alive, but disappearing over time'' (abstract). Robison (1986), Hill (1996, 1997) posit that the Indonesian government under Suharto always pointed to the lack of indigenous entrepreneurship , thereby motivating the nationalisation of all industries. Furthermore, the same literature also points to the fact that small businesses were mostly left out of development programmes because they were supposed less productive and having less productivity potential than larger ones. Vial (2008) challenges this view and shows that small firms represent about 70% of firms, 12% of total output, but contribute to 25% of total factor productivity growth on average over the period 1975-94 in the industrial sector (Table 10, p.316). ---------- Methodology/Key Propositions: A review of the empirical literature points at several under-researched questions. Firstly, we assess whether there is, evidence of small family-business entrepreneurship in Indonesia. Secondly, we examine and present the characteristics of these enterprises, along with the size of the sector, and its dynamics. Thirdly, we study whether these enterprises underperform compared to the larger scale industrial sector, as it is suggested in the literature. We reconsider performance measurements for micro-family owned businesses. We suggest that, beside productivity measures, performance could be appraised by both the survival probability of the firm, and by the amount of household assets formation. We compare micro-family-owned and larger industrial firms' survival probabilities after the 1997 crisis, their capital productivity, then compare household assets of families involved in business with those who do not. Finally, we examine human and social capital as moderators of enterprises' performance. In particular, we assess whether a higher level of education and community participation have an effect on the likelihood of running a family business, and whether it has an impact on households' assets level. We use the IFLS database compiled and published by RAND Corporation. The data is a rich community, households, and individuals panel dataset in four waves: 1993, 1997, 2000, 2007. We now focus on the waves 1997 and 2000 in order to investigate entrepreneurship behaviours in turbulent times, i.e. the 1997 Asian crisis. We use aggregate individual data, and focus on households data in order to study micro-family-owned businesses. IFLS data covers roughly 7,600 households in 1997 and over 10,000 households in 2000, with about 95% of 1997 households re-interviewed in 2000. Households were interviewed in 13 of the 27 provinces as defined before 2001. Those 13 provinces were targeted because accounting for 83% of the population. A full description of the data is provided in Frankenberg and Thomas (2000), and Strauss et alii (2004). We deflate all monetary values in Rupiah with the World Development Indicators Consumer Price Index base 100 in 2000. ---------- Results and Implications: We find that in Indonesia, entrepreneurship is widespread and two thirds of households hold one or several family businesses. In rural areas, in 2000, 75% of households run one or several businesses. The proportion of households holding both a farm and a non farm business is higher in rural areas, underlining the reliance of rural households on self-employment, especially after the crisis. Those businesses come in various sizes from very small to larger ones. The median business production value represents less than the annual national minimum wage. Figures show that at least 75% of farm businesses produce less than the annual minimum wage, with non farm businesses being more numerous to produce the minimum wage. However, this is only one part of the story, as production is not the only ''output'' or effect of the business. We show that the survival rate of those businesses ranks between 70 and 82% after the 1997 crisis, which contrasts with the 67% survival rate for the formal industrial sector (Ter Wengel & Rodriguez, 2006). Micro Family Owned Businesses might be relatively small in terms of production, they also provide stability in times of crisis. For those businesses that provide business assets figures, we show that capital productivity is fairly high, with rates that are ten times higher for non farm businesses. Results show that households running a business have larger family assets, and households are better off in urban areas. We run a panel logit model in order to test the effect of human and social capital on the existence of businesses among households. We find that non farm businesses are more likely to appear in households with higher human and social capital situated in urban areas. Farm businesses are more likely to appear in lower human capital and rural contexts, while still being supported by community participation. The estimation of our panel data model confirm that households are more likely to have higher family assets if situated in urban area, the higher the education level, the larger the assets, and running a business increase the likelihood of having larger assets. This is especially true for non farm businesses that have a clearly larger and more significant effect on assets than farm businesses. Finally, social capital in the form of community participation also has a positive effect on assets. Those results confirm the existence of a strong entrepreneurship culture among Indonesian households. Investigating survival rates also shows that those businesses are quite stable, even in the face of a violent crisis such as the 1997 one, and as a result, can provide a safety net. Finally, considering household assets - the returns of business to the household, rather than profit or productivity - the returns of business to itself, shows that households running a business are better off. While we demonstrate that uman and social capital are key to business existence, survival and performance, those results open avenues for further research regarding the factors that could hamper growth of those businesses in terms of output and employment.

Genetic and gene expression analyses of the polycystic ovary syndrome candidate gene fibrillin-3 and other fibrillin family members in human ovaries

Several studies have demonstrated an association between polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and the dinucleotide repeat microsatellite marker D19S884, which is located in intron 55 of the fibrillin-3 (FBN3) gene. Fibrillins, including FBN1 and 2, interact with latent transforming growth factor (TGF)-β-binding proteins (LTBP) and thereby control the bioactivity of TGFβs. TGFβs stimulate fibroblast replication and collagen production. The PCOS ovarian phenotype includes increased stromal collagen and expansion of the ovarian cortex, features feasibly influenced by abnormal fibrillin expression. To examine a possible role of fibrillins in PCOS, particularly FBN3, we undertook tagging and functional single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis (32 SNPs including 10 that generate non-synonymous amino acid changes) using DNA from 173 PCOS patients and 194 controls. No SNP showed a significant association with PCOS and alleles of most SNPs showed almost identical population frequencies between PCOS and control subjects. No significant differences were observed for microsatellite D19S884. In human PCO stroma/cortex (n = 4) and non-PCO ovarian stroma (n = 9), follicles (n = 3) and corpora lutea (n = 3) and in human ovarian cancer cell lines (KGN, SKOV-3, OVCAR-3, OVCAR-5), FBN1 mRNA levels were approximately 100 times greater than FBN2 and 200–1000-fold greater than FBN3. Expression of LTBP-1 mRNA was 3-fold greater than LTBP-2. We conclude that FBN3 appears to have little involvement in PCOS but cannot rule out that other markers in the region of chromosome 19p13.2 are associated with PCOS or that FBN3 expression occurs in other organs and that this may be influencing the PCOS phenotype.

Family violence or woman abuse? Putting gender back into the Canadian research equation

Research on violence against women has been among the most scrutinized areas in social science. From the beginning, efforts to empirically document the prevalence, incidence, and characteristics of violence against women have been hotly debated (DeKeseredy, 2011; Dragiewicz & DeKeseredy, forthcoming; Minaker & Snider, 2006). Objections that violence against women was rare have given way to acknowledgement that it is more common than once thought. Research on the outcomes of woman abuse has documented the serious ramifications of this type of violence for individual victims and the broader community. However, violence against women was not simply “discovered” by scholars in the 1960s, leading to a progressive growth of the literature. Knowledge production around violence against women has been fiercely contested, and feminist insights in particular have always been met with backlash(Gotell, 2007; Minkaer & Snider, 2006; Randall, 1989; Sinclair, 2003)...

'Pretend I was Mummy': Children's Production of Authority and Subordinance in Their Pretend Play Interaction During Disputes

Purpose – This chapter examines an episode of pretend play amongst a group of young girls in an elementary school in Australia, highlighting how they interact within the membership categorization device ‘family’ to manage their social and power relationships. Approach – Using conversation analysis and membership categorization analysis, an episode of video-recorded interaction that occurs amongst a group of four young girls is analyzed. Findings – As disputes arise amongst the girls, the mother category is produced as authoritative through authoritative actions by the girl in the category of mother, and displays of subordination on the part of the other children, in the categories of sister, dog and cat. Value of paper – Examining play as a social practice provides insight into the social worlds of children. The analysis shows how the children draw upon and co-construct family-style relationships in a pretend play context, in ways that enable them to build and organize peer interaction. Authority is highlighted as a joint accomplishment that is part of the social and moral order continuously being negotiated by the children. The authority of the mother category is produced and oriented to as a means of managing the disputes within the pretend frame of play.

Regulating bereavement : inquests, family pressure and the gate keeping of suicide statistics

This study of English Coronial practice raises a number of questions, not only regarding state investigations of suicide, but also of the role of the Coroner itself. Following observations at over 20 inquests into possible suicides, and in-depth interviews with six Coroners, three main issue emerged: first, there exists considerable slippage between different Coroners over which deaths are likely to be classified as suicide; second, the high standard of proof required, and immense pressure faced by Coroners from family members at inquest to reach any verdict other than suicide, can significantly depress likely suicide rates; and finally, Coroners feel no professional obligation, either individually or collectively, to contribute to the production of consistent and useful social data regarding suicide—arguably rendering comparative suicide statistics relatively worthless. These issues lead, ultimately, to a more important question about the role we expect Coroners to play within social governance, and within an effective, contemporary democracy.

Suicide and the therapeutic coroner : inquests, governance and the grieving family

This study of English Coronial practice raises a number of questions about the role played by the Coroner within contemporary governance. Following observations at over 20 inquests into possible suicides and in-depth interviews with six Coroners, three preliminary issue emerged, all of which pointed to a broader and, in many ways, more significant issue. These preliminary issues are concerned with: (1) the existence of considerable slippages between different Coroners over which deaths are likely to be classified as suicide; (2) the high standard of proof required and immense pressure faced by Coroners from family members at inquest to reach any verdict other than suicide, which significantly depresses likely suicide rates, and; (3) Coroners feeling no professional obligation, either individually or collectively, to contribute to the production of consistent and useful social data regarding suicide, arguably rendering comparative suicide statistics relatively worthless. These concerns lead, ultimately, to the second more important question about the role expected of Coroners within social governance and within an effective, contemporary democracy. That is, are Coroners the principal officers in the public administration of death; or are they, first and foremost, a crucial part of the grieving process, one that provides important therapeutic interventions into the mental and emotional health of the community?

Atmospheric gas plasma–induced ROS production activates TNF-ASK1 pathway for the induction of melanoma cancer cell apoptosis

Atmospheric gas plasmas (AGPs) are able to selectively induce apoptosis in cancer cells, offering a promising alternative to conventional therapies that have unwanted side effects such as drug resistance and toxicity. However, the mechanism of AGP-induced cancer cell death is unknown. In this study, AGP is shown to up-regulate intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels and induce apoptosis in melanoma but not normal melanocyte cells. By screening genes involved in apoptosis, we identify tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-family members as the most differentially expressed cellular genes upon AGP treatment of melanoma cells. TNF receptor 1 (TNFR1) antagonist-neutralizing antibody specifically inhibits AGP-induced apoptosis signal, regulating apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1 (ASK1) activity and subsequent ASK1-dependent apoptosis. Treatment of cells with intracellular ROS scavenger N-acetyl-l-cysteine also inhibits AGP-induced activation of ASK1, as well as apoptosis. Moreover, depletion of intracellular ASK1 reduces the level of AGP-induced oxidative stress and apoptosis. The evidence for TNF-signaling dependence of ASK1-mediated apoptosis suggests possible mechanisms for AGP activation and regulation of apoptosis-signaling pathways in tumor cells.

N-acetyl cysteine enhances imatinib-induced apoptosis of Bcr-Abl(+) cells by endothelial nitric oxide synthase-mediated production of nitric oxide

Imatinib, a small-molecule inhibitor of the Bcr-Abl kinase, is a successful drug for treating chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). Bcr-Abl kinase stimulates the production of H2O2, which in turn activates Abl kinase. We therefore evaluated whether N-acetyl cysteine (NAC), a ROS scavenger improves imatinib efficacy. Effects of imatinib and NAC either alone or in combination were assessed on Bcr-Abl(+) cells to measure apoptosis. Role of nitric oxide (NO) in NAC-induced enhanced cytotoxicity was assessed using pharmacological inhibitors and siRNAs of nitric oxide synthase isoforms. We report that imatinib-induced apoptosis of imatinib-resistant and imatinib-sensitive Bcr-Abl(+) CML cell lines and primary cells from CML patients is significantly enhanced by co-treatment with NAC compared to imatinib treatment alone. In contrast, another ROS scavenger glutathione reversed imatinib-mediated killing. NAC-mediated enhanced killing correlated with cleavage of caspases, PARP and up-regulation and down regulation of pro- and anti-apoptotic family of proteins, respectively. Co-treatment with NAC leads to enhanced production of nitric oxide (NO) by endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS). Involvement of eNOS dependent NO in NAC-mediated enhancement of imatinib-induced cell death was confirmed by nitric oxide synthase (NOS) specific pharmacological inhibitors and siRNAs. Indeed, NO donor sodium nitroprusside (SNP) also enhanced imatinib-mediated apoptosis of Bcr-Abl(+) cells. NAC enhances imatinib-induced apoptosis of Bcr-Abl(+) cells by endothelial nitric oxide synthase-mediated production of nitric oxide.