Globalization and the Political : in the Borderlands with the Zapatista Movement

This study explores the meaning, content and significance of the political as manifest in the Mexican Zapatista movement as historically and geopolitically situated struggle. The case study undertakes a critical analysis of the development, organization, practice and discourse of the movement by drawing on fieldwork experiences, interviews, discussions, documents, films and other material produced by the movement, and the critical engagement with the research of others, especially in Latin America and Mexico. The dissertation poses the need to reconsider what constitutes and what we understand by the political , related particularly to the challenges provided by the critical globalization literature, decolonization and the study of social movements. The analysis encompasses several inter-related levels: the theoretical knowledge regarding the conceptualization of the political; the methodological level, regarding how such research can and should be conducted and knowledge claims formulated given the inescapable context and effects of global power relations; and the substantive level of adding specific information and analytical insights to existing knowledge of the Zapatista movement. As a result of conceptualization of a range of practices and processes, distinct understandings of the political can be underlined. Firstly, the conception of the indigenous and the struggles as indigenous movements as specifically political, not just a cultural or ethnic identity or a static quality but rather, an active consciousness integrally linked both to a longer history of oppression and as political articulation in the concrete context and lived experience of contemporary struggle. Secondly, the practice of autonomy as central to an understanding of the political in the context of the Zapatista struggle as a practical response to the situation of oppression, counter-insurgency, siege and conflict in Chiapas, as well as a positively informed mode of political self-understanding, expression and practice in its own right. Thirdly, the notion of geopolitical positioning as important to understanding of the political that encompasses the historicity of specific context and the power relations which shape that context, developed in two different ways: in regard to the positioning of the researcher and knowledge production with and about the Zapatistas, and in regard to the practice and knowledge of the Zapatistas as a decolonizing force in their encounters, interaction and relations with others, especially the global civil society. Finally, the role of silence, absence, invisibility, revelation and hiding in political practice as a deliberate strategy in response to oppressive power. -

Functional limitations and quality of life in schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders

There is substantial evidence of the decreased functional capacity, especially everyday functioning, of people with psychotic disorder in clinical settings, but little research about it in the general population. The aim of the present study was to provide information on the magnitude of functional capacity problems in persons with psychotic disorder compared with the general population. It estimated the prevalence and severity of limitations in vision, mobility, everyday functioning and quality of life of persons with psychotic disorder in the Finnish population and determined the factors affecting them. This study is based on the Health 2000 Survey, which is a nationally representative survey of 8028 Finns aged 30 and older. The psychotic diagnoses of the participants were assessed in the Psychoses of Finland survey, a substudy of Health 2000. The everyday functioning of people with schizophrenia is studied widely, but one important factor, mobility has been neglected. Persons with schizophrenia and other non-affective psychotic disorders, but not affective psychoses had a significantly increased risk of having both self-reported and test-based mobility limitations as well as weak handgrip strength. Schizophrenia was associated independently with mobility limitations even after controlling for lifestyle-related factors and chronic medical conditions. Another significant factor associated with problems in everyday functioning in participants with schizophrenia was reduced visual acuity. Their vision was examined significantly less often during the five years before the visual acuity measurement than the general population. In general, persons with schizophrenia and other non-affective psychotic disorder had significantly more limitations in everyday functioning, deficits in verbal fluency and in memory than the general population. More severe negative symptoms, depression, older age, verbal memory deficits, worse expressive speech and reduced distance vision were associated with limitations in everyday functioning. Of all the psychotic disorders, schizoaffective disorder was associated with the largest losses of quality of life, and bipolar I disorder with equal or smaller losses than schizophrenia. However, the subjective loss of qualify of life associated with psychotic disorders may be smaller than objective disability, which warrants attention. Depressive symptoms were the most important determinant of poor quality of life in all psychotic disorders. In conclusion, subjects with psychotic disorders need regular somatic health monitoring. Also, health care workers should evaluate the overall quality of life and depression of subjects with psychotic disorders in order to provide them with the basic necessities of life.

Tsoi Yuen Resistance and Post-80s Generation: A new wave of domestic social movement

Hong Kong was once a British colony and has been under the sovereignty of People’s Republic of China (PRC) since 1997. However, some of the unjust practices and colonial legacies are infiltrated into the development ideology as well as the social structures. The construction of intercity express railway project announced in 2008 causing the demolishment of Tsoi Yuen Tsuen, a “non-indigenous” agricultural village in Hong Kong, was one of the current examples. Tsoi Yuen village was established under the former colonial sovereignty sixty years ago. Approximately 450 populations were affected that they had to relocate their homeland involuntarily. However, these villagers were very attached to their homelands and were unwilling to move, and meanwhile they found that they were absent in the government’s consultation and decision-making process. Soon they began their resistance and demanded for “No Move! No Demolish!”. Their movement was strongly supported by a group of “Post-80s generation” and turned into the most important social movement of the city in recent years. In fact, demolition of Tsoi Yuen Village for city development is not an isolated case in the city. Meanwhile the situation is getting worse in Mainland China. I chose the case study of Tsoi Yuen Resistance from 2008 to 2011 for revelation of the complicated colonial history and postcolonial era of Hong Kong. I focused on discussing the Tsoi Yuen Resistance and the Post-80s movement, and how they have exposed the tension between top-down urban planning and development and public movements fighting for a more democratic process in choosing their way of living. Through the study of a village movement which as well as the rationale behind the Post-80s’ support, I hoped to illustrate how this movement has awaken a different sense of living for the new generations in the midst of the high-sounding urban development. It is an opportunity to examine Hong Kong’s colonial epoch in a different perspective: through studying the Tsoi Yuen Village, let them (subalterns) speak for themselves. Furthermore, the significance of this resistance, taking place eleven years after the handover to the PRC, is an important fact that I shall not miss in later discussion. Last but not least, during the resistance, advanced technology and social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, iPhone were used by Post 80s generation to spread the latest information in order to attract public’s concern and participation. Therefore, apart from studying Tsoi Yuen Resistance as a local social movement, I also regard it as a part of the global movement in perusing ecological lifestyle and civil society. How Post 80s’ generation manipulates the global idea in a local context will also be examined.

Tracing water movement by means of Escherichia coli bacteriophages

Tiivistelmä: Escherichia coli bacteriofaagit merkkiaineena vesien kulkeutumistutkimuksissa

Interaction of Sesbania mosaic virus movement protein with the coat protein - implications for viral spread

Sesbania mosaic virus (SeMV) is a single-stranded positive-sense RNA plant virus belonging to the genus Sobemovirus. The movement protein (MP) encoded by SeMV ORF1 showed no significant sequence similarity with MPs of other genera, but showed 32% identity with the MP of Southern bean mosaic virus within the Sobemovirus genus. With a view to understanding the mechanism of cell-to-cell movement in sobemoviruses, the SeMV MP gene was cloned, over-expressed in Escherichia coli and purified. Interaction of the recombinant MP with the native virus (NV) was investigated by ELISA and pull-down assays. It was observed that SeMV MP interacted with NV in a concentration- and pH-dependent manner. Analysis of N- and C-terminal deletion mutants of the MP showed that SeMV MP interacts with the NV through the N- terminal 49 amino acid segment. Yeast two-hybrid assays confirmed the in vitro observations, and suggested that SeMV might belong to the class of viruses that require MP and NV/coat protein for cell-to-cell movement.

Interaction of Sesbania Mosaic Virus Movement Protein with VPg and P10: Implication to Specificity of Genome Recognition

Sesbania mosaic virus (SeMV) is a single strand positive-sense RNA plant virus that belongs to the genus Sobemovirus. The mechanism of cell-to-cell movement in sobemoviruses has not been well studied. With a view to identify the viral encoded ancillary proteins of SeMV that may assist in cell-to-cell movement of the virus, all the proteins encoded by SeMV genome were cloned into yeast Matchmaker system 3 and interaction studies were performed. Two proteins namely, viral protein genome linked (VPg) and a 10-kDa protein (P10) c v gft encoded by OFR 2a, were identified as possible interacting partners in addition to the viral coat protein (CP). Further characterization of these interactions revealed that the movement protein (MP) recognizes cognate RNA through interaction with VPg, which is covalently linked to the 59 end of the RNA. Analysis of the deletion mutants delineated the domains of MP involved in the interaction with VPg and P10. This study implicates for the first time that VPg might play an important role in specific recognition of viral genome by MP in SeMV and shed light on the possible role of P10 in the viral movement.

Molecular diagnosis of developmental disorders

ABSTRACT Idiopathic developmental disorders (DDs) affect ~1% of the population worldwide. This being a considerable amount, efforts are being made to elucidate the disease mechanisms. One or several genetic factors cause 30-40% of DDs, and only 10% are caused by environmental factors. The remaining 50% of DD patients go undiagnosed, mostly due to a lack of diagnostic techniques. The cause in most undiagnosed cases is though to be a genetic factor or a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Despite the surge of new technologies entering the market, their implementation into diagnostic laboratories is hampered by costs, lack of information about the expected diagnostic yield, and the wide range of selection. This study evaluates new microarray methods in diagnosing idiopathic DDs, providing information about their added diagnostic value. Study I analysed 150 patients by array comparative genomic hybridization (array CGH, 44K and 244K), with a subsequent 18% diagnostic yield. These results are supported by other studies, indicating an enourmous added diagnostic value of array CGH, compared with conventional cytogenetic analysis. Nevertheless, 80% of the patients remained undiagnosed in Study I. In an effort to diagnose more patients, in Study IV the resolution was increased from 8.9 Kb of the 244K CGH array to 0.7 Kb, by using a single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array. However, no additional pathogenic changes were detected in the 35 patients assessed, and thus, for diagnostic purposes, an array platform with ca 9 Kb resolution appears adequate. The recent vast increase in reports of detected aberrations and associated phenotypes has enabled characterization of several new syndromes first based on a common aberration and thereafter by delineation of common clinical characteristics. In Study II, a familial deletion at 9q22.2q22.32 with variable penetrance was described. Despite several reports of aberrations in the adjacent area at 9q associated with Gorlin syndrome, the patients in this family had a unique phenotype and did not present with the syndrome. In Study III, a familial duplication of chromosome 6p22.2 was described. The duplication caused increased expression of an important enzyme of the γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) degradation pathway, causing oxidative stress of the brain, and thus, very likely, the mild mental retardation of these patients. These two case studies attempted to pinpoint candidate genes and to resolve the pathogenic mechanism causing the clinical characteristics of the patients. Presenting rare genetic and clinical findings to the international science and medical community enables interpretation of similar findings in other patients. The added value of molecular karyotyping in patients with idiopathic DD is evident. As a first line of testing, arrays with a median resolution of at least 9 Kb should be considered and further characterization of detected aberrations undertaken when possible. Diagnostic whole-exome sequencing may be the best option for patients who remain undiagnosed after high-resolution array analysis.

Crystal structure of Salmonella typhimurium 2-methylcitrate synthase: Insights on domain movement and substrate specificity

2-Methylcitric acid (2-MCA) cycle is one of the well studied pathways for the utilization of propionate as a source of carbon and energy in bacteria such as Salmonella typhimurium and Escherichia coli. 2-Methylcitrate synthase (2-MCS) catalyzes the conversion of oxaloacetate and propionyl-CoA to 2-methylcitrate and CoA in the second step of 2-MCA cycle. Here, we report the X-ray crystal structure of S. typhimurium 2-MCS (StPrpC) at 2.4 A resolution and its functional characterization. StPrpC was found to utilize propionyl-CoA more efficiently than acetyl-CoA or butyryl-CoA. The polypeptide fold and the catalytic residues of StPrpC are conserved in citrate synthases (CSs) suggesting similarities in their functional mechanisms. In the triclinic P1 cell, StPrpC molecules were organized as decamers composed of five identical dimer units. In solution, StPrpC was in a dimeric form at low concentrations and was converted to larger oligomers at higher concentrations. CSs are usually dimeric proteins. In Gram-negative bacteria, a hexameric form, believed to be important for regulation of activity by NADH, is also observed. Structural comparisons with hexameric E. coil CS suggested that the key residues involved in NADH binding are not conserved in StPrpC. Structural comparison with the ligand free and bound states of CSs showed that StPrpC is in a nearly closed conformation despite the absence of bound ligands. It was found that the Tyr197 and Leu324 of StPrpC are structurally equivalent to the ligand binding residues His and Val, respectively, of CSs. These substitutions might determine the specificities for acyl-CoAs of these enzymes. (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A Generalized Enthalpy Update Scheme for Solidification of a Binary Alloy with Solid Phase Movement

A generalized enthalpy update scheme is presented for evaluating solid and liquid fractions during the solidification of binary alloys, taking solid movement into consideration. A fixed-grid, enthalpy-based method is developed such that the scheme accounts for equilibrium as well as for nonequilibrium solidification phenomena, along with solid phase movement. The effect of solid movement on the solidification interface shape and macrosegregation is highlighted.

Is saccade averaging determined by visual processing or movement planning?

Bhutani N, Ray S, Murthy A. Is saccade averaging determined by visual processing or movement planning? J Neurophysiol 108: 3161-3171, 2012. First published September 26, 2012; doi:10.1152/jn.00344.2012.-Saccadic averaging that causes subjects' gaze to land between the location of two targets when faced with simultaneously or sequentially presented stimuli has been often used as a probe to investigate the nature of computations that transform sensory representations into an oculomotor plan. Since saccadic movements involve at least two processing stages-a visual stage that selects a target and a movement stage that prepares the response-saccade averaging can either occur due to interference in visual processing or movement planning. By having human subjects perform two versions of a saccadic double-step task, in which the stimuli remained the same, but different instructions were provided (REDIRECT gaze to the later-appearing target vs. FOLLOW the sequence of targets in their order of appearance), we tested two alternative hypotheses. If saccade averaging were due to visual processing alone, the pattern of saccade averaging is expected to remain the same across task conditions. However, whereas subjects produced averaged saccades between two targets in the FOLLOW condition, they produced hypometric saccades in the direction of the initial target in the REDIRECT condition, suggesting that the interaction between competing movement plans produces saccade averaging.