Saint Margaret's Tattoos: Empowering Marks on White Skin

Saint Margaret, as presented in the “Katherine Group” life of the virgin martyr, claims to have Christ’s “marks” and “seals” on her. Bringing together postmodern theories of body modification and Paul Zumthor’s concept of mouvance, this essay reads these marks as tattoos that consist of virtual (tattoo fantasies), oral (tattoo narratives), and written elements (the actual marks on skin). Margaret defends and empowers herself by claiming to possess Christ’s ownership tattoo. Her oppressor Olibrius, in turn, intends to overwrite that mark palimpsestically and hence to empower himself, not unlike slave-owners in antiquity. While the gruesome torture scenes suggest that Olibrius wins the upper hand in this contest, the outcome of the narrative instead proves that Margaret triumphs. She dies a virgin after defiantly appropriating, in her tattoo narrative, the torture marks as her own, divine tattoo.

Impacts of out-migration on land management in mountain areas

INTRODUCTION Out-migration from mountain areas is leaving behind half families and elderly to deal with managing the land alongside daily life challenges. A potential reduction of labour force as well as expertise on cropping practices, maintenance of terraces and irrigation canals, slope stabilization, grazing, forest and other land management practices are further challenged by changing climate conditions and increased environmental threats. An understanding of the resilience of managed land resources in order to enhance adaptation to environmental and socio-economic variability, and evidence of the impact of Sustainable Land Management (SLM) on the mitigation of environmental threats have so far not sufficiently been tackled. The study presented here aims to find out how land management in mountains is being affected by migration in the context of natural hazards and climate change in two study sites, namely Quillacollo District of Bolivia and Panchase area of Western Nepal, and which measures are needed to increase resilience of livelihoods and land management practices. The presentation includes draft results from first field work periods in both sites. A context of high vulnerability According to UNISDR, vulnerability is defined as “the characteristics and circumstances of a community, system or asset that make it susceptible to the damaging effects of a hazard”.Hazards are another threat affecting people’s livelihood in mountainous area. They can be either natural or human induced. Landslides, debris flow and flood are affecting peopleGood land management can significantly reduce occurrence of hazards. In the opposite bad land management or land abandonment can lead to negative consequences on the land, and thus again increase vulnerability of people’s livelihoods. METHODS The study integrates bio-physical and socio-economic data through a case study as well as a mapping approach. From the social sciences, well-tested participatory qualitative methodologies, typically used in Vulnerability and Capacity Analyses, such as semi-structured interviews with so-called ‘key informants’, transect walks, participatory risk and social resource mapping are applied. The bio-physical analysis of the current environmental conditions determining hazards and structural vulnerability are obtained from remote sensing analysis, field work studies, and GIS analysis The assessment of the consequences of migration in the area of origin is linked with a mapping and appraisal of land management practices (www.wocat.net, Schwilch et al., 2011). The WOCAT mapping tool (WOCAT/LADA/DESIRE 2008) allows capturing the major land management practices / technologies, their spread, effectiveness and impact within a selected area. Data drawn from a variety of sources are compiled and harmonised by a team of experts, consisting of land degradation and conservation specialists working in consultation with land users from various backgrounds. The specialists’ and land users’ knowledge is combined with existing datasets and documents (maps, GIS layers, high-resolution satellite images, etc.) in workshops that are designed to build consensus regarding the variables used to assess land degradation and SLM. This process is also referred to as participatory expert assessment or consensus mapping. The WOCAT mapping and SLM documentation methodologies are used together with participatory mapping and other socio-economic data collection (interviews, questionnaires, focus group discussions, expert consultation) to combine information about migration types and land management issues. GIS and other spatial visualization tools (e.g. Google maps) will help to represent and understand these links. FIRST RESULTS Nepal In Nepal, migration is a common strategy to improve the livelihoods. Migrants are mostly men and they migrate to other Asian countries, first to India and then to the Gulf countries. Only a few women are migrating abroad. Women migrate essentially to main Nepali cities when they can afford it. Remittances are used primarily for food and education; however they are hardly used for agricultural purposes. Besides traditional agriculture being maintained, only few new practices are emerging, such as vegetable farming or agroforestry. The land abandonment is a growing consequence of outmigration, resulting in the spreading of invasive species. However, most impacts of migration on land management are not yet clear. Moreover, education is a major concern for the respondents; they want their children having a better education and get better opportunities. Linked to this, unemployment is another major concern of the respondents, which in turn is “solved” through outmigration. Bolivia Migration is a common livelihood strategy in Bolivia. In the area of study, whole families are migrating downward to the cities of the valleys or to other departments of Bolivia, especially to Chapare (tropics) for the coca production and to Santa Cruz. Some young people are migrating abroad, mostly to Argentina. There are few remittances and if those are sent to the families in the mountain areas, then they are mainly used for agriculture purpose. The impacts of migration on land management practices are not clear although there are some important aspects to be underlined. The people who move downward are still using their land and coming back during part of the week to work on it. As a consequence of this multi-residency, there is a tendency to reduce land management work or to change the way the land is used. As in Nepal, education is a very important issue in this area. There is no secondary school, and only one community has a primary school. After the 6th grade students have therefore to go down into the valley towns to study. The lack of basic education is pushing more and more people to move down and to leave the mountains. CONCLUSIONS This study is on-going, more data have to be collected to clearly assess the impacts of out-migration on land management in mountain areas. The first results of the study allow us to present a few interesting findings. The two case studies are very different, however in both areas, young people are not staying anymore in the mountains and leave behind half families and elderly to manage the land. Additionally in both cases education is a major reason for moving out, even though the causes are not always the same. More specifically, in the case of Nepal, the use of remittances underlines the fact that investment in agriculture is not the first choice of a family. In the case of Bolivia, some interesting findings showed that people continue to work on their lands even if they move downward. The further steps of the study will help to explore these interesting issues in more detail. REFERENCES Schwilch G., Bestelmeyer B., Bunning S., Critchley W., Herrick J., Kellner K., Liniger H.P., Nachtergaele F., Ritsema C.J., Schuster B., Tabo R., van Lynden G., Winslow M. 2011. Experiences in Monitoring and Assessment of Sustainable Land Management. Land Degradation & Development 22 (2), 214-225. Doi 10.1002/ldr.1040 WOCAT/LADA/DESIRE 2008. A Questionnaire for Mapping Land Degradation and Sustainable Land Management. Liniger H.P., van Lynden G., Nachtergaele F., Schwilch G. (eds), Centre for Development and Environment, Institute of Geography, University of Berne, Berne

A new tool based on two micromanipulators facilitates the handling of ultrathin cryosection ribbons

A close to native structure of bulk biological specimens can be imaged by cryo-electron microscopy of vitreous sections (CEMOVIS). In some cases structural information can be combined with X-ray data leading to atomic resolution in situ. However, CEMOVIS is not routinely used. The two critical steps consist of producing a frozen section ribbon of a few millimeters in length and transferring the ribbon onto an electron microscopy grid. During these steps, the first sections of the ribbon are wrapped around an eyelash (unwrapping is frequent). When a ribbon is sufficiently attached to the eyelash, the operator must guide the nascent ribbon. Steady hands are required. Shaking or overstretching may break the ribbon. In turn, the ribbon immediately wraps around itself or flies away and thereby becomes unusable. Micromanipulators for eyelashes and grids as well as ionizers to attach section ribbons to grids were proposed. The rate of successful ribbon collection, however, remained low for most operators. Here we present a setup composed of two micromanipulators. One of the micromanipulators guides an electrically conductive fiber to which the ribbon sticks with unprecedented efficiency in comparison to a not conductive eyelash. The second micromanipulator positions the grid beneath the newly formed section ribbon and with the help of an ionizer the ribbon is attached to the grid. Although manipulations are greatly facilitated, sectioning artifacts remain but the likelihood to investigate high quality sections is significantly increased due to the large number of sections that can be produced with the reported tool.

Cognition or Affect? - Exploring Information Processing on Facebook

Recognizing the increasing amount of information shared on Social Networking Sites (SNS), in this study we aim to explore the information processing strategies of users on Facebook. Specifically, we aim to investigate the impact of various factors on user attitudes towards the posts on their Newsfeed. To collect the data, we program a Facebook application that allows users to evaluate posts in real time. Applying Structural Equation Modeling to a sample of 857 observations we find that it is mostly the affective attitude that shapes user behavior on the network. This attitude, in turn, is mainly determined by the communication intensity between users, overriding comprehensibility of the post and almost neglecting post length and user posting frequency.

Long range physical map of the Wilms' tumor - aniridia region on human chromosome 11

Nephroblastoma or Wilms' tumor is a pediatric renal malignancy that is the most frequently occurring childhood solid tumor. Approximately 1-2% of children with Wilms' tumor also present with aniridia, a congenital absence of all or part of the iris of the eye. These children also have high rates of genitourinary anomalies and mental retardation resulting in what is called the WAGR (Wilms' tumor, aniridia, genitourinary anomaly, mental retardation) syndrome. Cytogenetic analysis of metaphase chromosomes from these patients revealed a consistent deletion of band P13 on chromosome 11. These observations suggest close physical linkage between the disease-related loci, and further imply that development of each phenotype results from the loss of normal gene function.^ The objective of this work is to understand the molecular events at chromosome band 11p13 that are essential to the development of sporadic Wilms' tumor and sporadic aniridia. Two human/hamster somatic cell hybrids have been used to identify sixteen independent DNA probes that map to this segment of the human genome. These newly identified DNA probes and four previously reported probes (CAT, FSHB, D11S16, and HBVIS) have been used to subdivide 11p13 into five intervals defined by overlapping constitutional deletions from several WAGR patients. A long-range physical map of 11p13 has been constructed using each of these probes in Southern blot analysis of genomic DNA after digestion with infrequently cutting restriction enzymes and pulse-field gel electrophoresis. This map, established primarily with MluI and NotI, spans approximately 13 $\times$ 10$\sp{6}$ bp and encompasses deletion and translocation breakpoints associated with genitourinary anomalies, aniridia, and sporadic Wilms' tumor. This complete physical map of human chromosome band 11p13 enables us to localize the genes for sporadic Wilms' tumor and sporadic aniridia to a small number of specific NotI fragments. ^

Fruit production in three masting tree species does not rely on stored carbon reserves

Fruiting is typically considered to massively burden the seasonal carbon budget of trees. The cost of reproduction has therefore been suggested as a proximate factor explaining observed mast-fruiting patterns. Here, we used a large-scale, continuous 13C labeling of mature, deciduous trees in a temperate Swiss forest to investigate to what extent fruit formation in three species with masting reproduction behavior (Carpinus betulus, Fagus sylvatica, Quercus petraea) relies on the import of stored carbon reserves. Using a free-air CO2 enrichment system, we exposed trees to 13C-depleted CO2 during 8 consecutive years. By the end of this experiment, carbon reserve pools had significantly lower δ13C values compared to control trees. δ13C analysis of new biomass during the first season after termination of the CO2 enrichment allowed us to distinguish the sources of built-in carbon (old carbon reserves vs. current assimilates). Flowers and expanding leaves carried a significant 13C label from old carbon stores. In contrast, fruits and vegetative infructescence tissues were exclusively produced from current, unlabeled photoassimilates in all three species, including F. sylvatica, which had a strong masting season. Analyses of δ13C in purified starch from xylem of fruit-bearing shoots revealed a complete turn-over of starch during the season, likely due to its usage for bud break. This study is the first to directly demonstrate that fruiting is independent from old carbon reserves in masting trees, with significant implications for mechanistic models that explain mast seeding.

Synthesis and Characterization of Photoaffinity Probes that Target the 5-HT3 Receptor

Abstract: The 5-HT3 receptor is one of several ion channels responsible for the transmission of nerve impulses in the peripheral and central nervous systems. Until now, it has been difficult to characterize transmembrane receptors with classical structural biology approaches like X-ray crystallography. The use of photoaffinity probes is an alternative approach to identify regions in the protein where small molecules bind. To this end, we present two photoaffinity probes based on granisetron, a well known antagonist of the 5-HT3 receptor. These new probes show nanomolar binding affinity for the orthosteric binding site. In addition, we investigated their reactivity using irradiation experiments.

Morphological evaluation of spermatogenesis in Lake Magadi tilapia (Alcolapia grahami): a fish living on the edge

Spermatogenesis in Lake Magadi tilapia (Alcolapia grahami), a cichlid fish endemic to the highly alkaline and saline Lake Magadi in Kenya, was evaluated using light and transmission electron microscopy. Spermatogenesis, typified by its three major phases (spermatocytogenesis, meiosis and spermiogenesis), was demonstrated by the presence of maturational spermatogenic cells namely spermatogonia, spermatocytes, spermatids and spermatozoa. Primary spermatogonia, the largest of all the germ cells, underwent a series of mitotic divisions producing primary spermatocytes, which then entered two consecutive meiotic divisions to produce secondary spermatocytes and spermatids. Spermatids, in turn, passed through three structurally distinct developmental stages typical of type-I spermiogenesis to yield typical primitive anacrosomal spermatozoa of the externally fertilizing type (aquasperm). The spermatozoon of this fish exhibited a spheroidal head with the nucleus containing highly electron-dense chromatin globules, a midpiece containing ten ovoid mitochondria arranged in two rows and a flagellum formed by the typical 9 + 2 microtubule axoneme. In addition, the midpiece, with no cytoplasmic sheath, appeared to end blindly distally in a lobe-like pattern around the flagellum; a feature that was unique and considered adaptive for the spermatozoon of this species to the harsh external environment. These observations show that the testis of A. grahami often undergoes active spermatogenesis despite the harsh environmental conditions to which it is exposed on a daily basis within the lake. Further, the spermiogenic features and spermatozoal ultrastructure appear to be characteristic of Cichlidae and, therefore, may be of phylogenetic significance.

Unravelling the multiple roles of FUS in RNA processing and on ALS pathogenesis

Two genes with related functions in RNA biogenesis were recently reported in patients with familial ALS: the FUS/TLS gene at the ALS6 locus and the TARDBP/TDP-43 gene at the ALS10 locus [1, 2]. FUS has been implicated to function in several steps of gene expression, including transcription regulation [3], RNA splicing [4, 5], mRNA transport in neurons [6] and, interestingly, in microRNA (miRNA) processing [7]. The goal of this project is to identify the molecular mechanisms leading to the development of FUS mutations-associated ALS. Specifically, we want to test the hypothesis that these FUS mutations misregulate miRNA levels that in turn affect the expression of genes critical for motor neuron survival. In addition we want to test whether misregulation of the miRNA profile is a common feature in ALS. We have performed immunoprecipitations from total extracts of 293T cells expressing FLAG-tagged FUS to characterize its interactome by mass spectrometry. This proteomic study not only revealed a strong interaction of FUS with splicing factors, but shows that FUS might be involved in many, quite different pathways. To map which parts of the FUS protein contribute to the interaction with splicing factors, we have performed a set of experiments with a series of missense and deletion mutants. With this approach, we will not only gain information on the binding partners of FUS along with a map of the required domains for the interactions, but it will also help to unravel whether certain ALS-associated FUS mutations lead to a loss or gain of function due to gain or loss of interactors. Additionally, we have performed quantitative interactomics using SILAC to identify interactome differences of ALS-associated FUS mutants. To this end we have performed immunoprecipitations of total extract from 293T cells, stably transduced with constructs expressing wild-type FUS-FLAG as well as three different ALS-associated mutants (G156E, R244C, P525L). First results indicate striking differences in the interactome with certain RNA binding proteins. We are now validating these candidates in order to reveal the importance of these differential interactions in the context of ALS.

Synthesis and testing of photoaffinity probes for the site-selective chemical modifications of the 5-HT3 receptor

The 5-HT3 receptor (5-HT3R) is an important ion channel responsible for the transmission of nerve impulses in the central nervous system.[1] It is difficult to characterize transmembrane dynamic receptors with classical structural biology approaches like crystallization and x-ray. The use of photoaffinity probes is an alternative approach to identify regions in the protein that are important for the binding of small molecules. Therefore we synthesized a small library of photoaffinity probes by conjugating photolabile building blocks via various linkers to granisetron which is a known antagonist of the 5-HT3R. We were able to obtain several compounds with diverse linker lengths and different photo-labile moieties that show nanomolar binding affinities for the orthosteric binding site. Further on we developed a stable 5-HT3R overexpressing cell line and a purification method to yield the receptor in a high purity. Currently we are investigating crosslinking experiments and subsequent MS – analysis.

Troublesome Issues: Current Debates on Tensions between Gender Equality and Cultural Diversity in Austria

This paper will first deal with the legal and social situation of Islam and Muslims in Austria and then turn to particular “troublesome issues” at the intersection of gender equality and ethnic/religious diversity. The public debate on Muslims particularly focuses on the notion “not willing to integrate” and in the assumption of “parallel societies”. Hierarchical gender relations and “harmful traditions” such as veiling, female genital cutting, forced marriage and honour based violence recently became the centre of attention. We will show that the Austrian debate on these issues is shaped by the idea of “dangerous cultural difference” as something coming from outside and being concentrated in segregated Muslim enclaves. Despite the public authorities’ rejection of the idea that Islam was responsible for “harmful traditions”, legal as well as political measures in Austria not only combat violence against women but also fuel “cultural anxieties” between different ethnic and religious groups.

Fine structure of synapses on dendritic spines

Camillo Golgi's "Reazione Nera" led to the discovery of dendritic spines, small appendages originating from dendritic shafts. With the advent of electron microscopy (EM) they were identified as sites of synaptic contact. Later it was found that changes in synaptic strength were associated with changes in the shape of dendritic spines. While live-cell imaging was advantageous in monitoring the time course of such changes in spine structure, EM is still the best method for the simultaneous visualization of all cellular components, including actual synaptic contacts, at high resolution. Immunogold labeling for EM reveals the precise localization of molecules in relation to synaptic structures. Previous EM studies of spines and synapses were performed in tissue subjected to aldehyde fixation and dehydration in ethanol, which is associated with protein denaturation and tissue shrinkage. It has remained an issue to what extent fine structural details are preserved when subjecting the tissue to these procedures. In the present review, we report recent studies on the fine structure of spines and synapses using high-pressure freezing (HPF), which avoids protein denaturation by aldehydes and results in an excellent preservation of ultrastructural detail. In these studies, HPF was used to monitor subtle fine-structural changes in spine shape associated with chemically induced long-term potentiation (cLTP) at identified hippocampal mossy fiber synapses. Changes in spine shape result from reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton. We report that cLTP was associated with decreased immunogold labeling for phosphorylated cofilin (p-cofilin), an actin-depolymerizing protein. Phosphorylation of cofilin renders it unable to depolymerize F-actin, which stabilizes the actin cytoskeleton. Decreased levels of p-cofilin, in turn, suggest increased actin turnover, possibly underlying the changes in spine shape associated with cLTP. The findings reviewed here establish HPF as an appropriate method for studying the fine structure and molecular composition of synapses on dendritic spines.

Black probes of Schrödinger spacetimes

We consider black probes of Anti-de Sitter and Schrödinger spacetimes embedded in string theory and M-theory and construct perturbatively new black hole geometries. We begin by reviewing black string configurations in Anti-de Sitter dual to finite temperature Wilson loops in the deconfined phase of the gauge theory and generalise the construction to the confined phase. We then consider black strings in thermal Schrödinger, obtained via a null Melvin twist of the extremal D3-brane, and construct three distinct types of black string configurations with spacelike as well as lightlike separated boundary endpoints. One of these configurations interpolates between the Wilson loop operators, with bulk duals defined in Anti-de Sitter and another class of Wilson loop operators, with bulk duals defined in Schrödinger. The case of black membranes with boundary endpoints on the M5-brane dual to Wilson surfaces in the gauge theory is analysed in detail. Four types of black membranes, ending on the null Melvin twist of the extremal M5-brane exhibiting the Schrödinger symmetry group, are then constructed. We highlight the differences between Anti-de Sitter and Schrödinger backgrounds and make some comments on the properties of the corresponding dual gauge theories.

Effect of irradiation distance on image contrast in epi-optoacoustic imaging of human volunteers

In combined clinical optoacoustic (OA) and ultrasound (US) imaging, epi-mode irradiation and detection integrated into one single probe offers flexible imaging of the human body. The imaging depth in epi-illumination is, however, strongly affected by clutter. As shown in previous phantom experiments, the location of irradiation plays an important role in clutter generation. We investigated the influence of the irradiation geometry on the local image contrast of clinical images, by varying the separation distance between the irradiated area and the acoustic imaging plane of a linear ultrasound transducer in an automated scanning setup. The results for different volunteers show that the image contrast can be enhanced on average by 25% and locally by more than a factor of two, when the irradiated area is slightly separated from the probe. Our findings have an important impact on the design of future optoacoustic probes for clinical application.