Adding paths to resilience and daily accounts to an already rich field of inquiry: A brief commentary on James Jackson's "Social structure and health disparities"

In absolute terms, there have been improvements in social resources for all racial and ethnic groups in the United States. The rise in education levels among blacks and Hispanics, for instance, suggests a lessening of the gap between classes, beginning in the later part of the 1960’s (Kao & Thompson, 2003). Yet the divide in income and to a lesser extent education between peoples who differ in gender, skin color and ethnic origin continues and in many ways is greater now than ever (Danziger & Gottschalk, 1997); (Gottschalk, 1997). The psychological distance between those high and those low in social-economic status continues unabated and threatens to undermine the capacity of communities to foster the positive architecture of hope, optimism and equal opportunity that holds us together as a nation...

Kissing fish: Rex Hunt, popular culture, sustainability and fishing practices

Natural resource managers and scientists focus on the behaviour of individual recreational fishers to understand environmental problems associated with this leisure activity. They do this in an effort to identify ways to change attitudes in order to facilitate environmentally friendly choices. This applied use of ABC psychology (attitude, behaviour, choice) has not delivered the expected results. This article offers a different approach by investigating an emergent practice in diverse fishing communities, rather than looking to the responsibility of the individual recreational fisher. Using practice theory, I trace the change from take-all to catch-and-release fishing in Australia by analysing the texts of celebrity fisher Rex Hunt, who is an advocate for releasing fish. I combine this with oral history testimony from a sample of recreational fishers from the broader Australian community to show how change happened. The practice of catch-and-release fishing emerged through the combination of sociotechnical and historically specific elements present in popular culture, including the media. Paying attention to the way different elements catalyse provides a rich account of the changing modes of sustainability in recreational fishing communities.

Genome-wide association study identifies eight loci associated with blood pressure

Elevated blood pressure is a common, heritable cause of cardiovascular disease worldwide. To date, identification of common genetic variants influencing blood pressure has proven challenging. We tested 2.5 million genotyped and imputed SNPs for association with systolic and diastolic blood pressure in 34,433 subjects of European ancestry from the Global BPgen consortium and followed up findings with direct genotyping (N 71,225 European ancestry, N 12,889 Indian Asian ancestry) and in silico comparison (CHARGE consortium, N = 29,136). We identified association between systolic or diastolic blood pressure and common variants in eight regions near the CYP17A1 (P = 7 × 10 24), CYP1A2 (P = 1 × 10 23), FGF5 (P = 1 × 10 21), SH2B3 (P = 3 × 10 18), MTHFR (P = 2 × 10 13), c10orf107 (P = 1 × 10 9), ZNF652 (P = 5 × 10 9) and PLCD3 (P = 1 × 10 8) genes. All variants associated with continuous blood pressure were associated with dichotomous hypertension. These associations between common variants and blood pressure and hypertension offer mechanistic insights into the regulation of blood pressure and may point to novel targets for interventions to prevent cardiovascular disease.

Localization of type 1 diabetes susceptibility to the MHC class I genes HLA-B and HLA-A

The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) on chromosome 6 is associated with susceptibility to more common diseases than any other region of the human genome, including almost all disorders classified as autoimmune. In type 1 diabetes the major genetic susceptibility determinants have been mapped to the MHC class II genes HLA-DQB1 and HLA-DRB1 (refs 1–3), but these genes cannot completely explain the association between type 1 diabetes and the MHC region4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11. Owing to the region's extreme gene density, the multiplicity of disease-associated alleles, strong associations between alleles, limited genotyping capability, and inadequate statistical approaches and sample sizes, which, and how many, loci within the MHC determine susceptibility remains unclear. Here, in several large type 1 diabetes data sets, we analyse a combined total of 1,729 polymorphisms, and apply statistical methods—recursive partitioning and regression...

The hunt for disability: The new eugenics and the normalization of school children

Examines issues of sameness, difference, equality, and democracy in present public school systems, focusing on the question of (dis)ability and implications of rethinking (dis)ability as an ontological issue before its inscription as an educational one concerning the politics of inclusion. The paper analyzes old and new discourses of eugenics as quality control of national populations. (Contains references.) (SM)

Teollisuuden ja yhteiskunnan palveluksessa : Arkkitehti Bertel Liljequist (1885 - 1954) tuotantolaitosten suunnittelijana maailmansotien välisenä aikana

My thesis concerns the plans drawn up by architect Bertel Liljequist (1885 1954) for an industrial corporation and a city in Finland during the interwar years. These were two quite different clients: the Kymi Company operating in Kuusankoski and the City of Helsinki. My study includes the micro-examination of the wider social issues involved. That the industrial community and factories in Kuusankoski be constructed correctly in a way supporting corporate strategy was of primary importance for the company s operations. Through the planning process for Helsinki s abattoirs, I show how a city dealt with the twin problems of hygiene and increasing demand for food resulting from a growth in population. I clarify how society and its economic, political and class structures affected the practice of architecture and its expression in the built environment. I analyse how the different backgrounds and starting points of the clients affected the construction projects under study and architect Bertel Liljequist s work. In studying Liljequist as an industrial designer, I have considered it vital to ascertain the client s intentions and objectives within the framework of the prevailing social situation. I examine the meanings the client wished the architecture to express and also to communicate to those working in the factory and the area as well as to the workers living on company land. The social outlook of the owners and management of Kymi Company implicitly affected the appearance of the factory. A brick fairface for the factories was a safe and natural material at the beginning of the 1920s when taking into consideration the events of the 1918 Civil War. To have built a White factory in the style of a defence building would have been provocative. Outside the factory gates, however, the company supported White architecture. The company used the factory buildings to manifest its power and the dwellings to bind the workers and make them loyal to the company. Architecture was thus one way in which the company manifested its position as the higher and undisputed authority. The role of the City of Helsinki within the planning process was for its officials to provide expert opinions but also to arrange study trips for the architect and the abattoir s general manager. The city also decided on the standard of the design. The city s responsibility for the health of its inhabitants and the requirements of modern meat production can be seen in the minimal architecture and clear functionality of the plant. The architecture left no doubt about the trustworthiness of the modern city. Translation: Michael Wynne-Ellis

Walter, Freddy, Kurt and Elizabeth Gottschalk with their mother Therese Gottschalk nee Molling, and the maid on an easter egg hunt; Hannover, Germany.

From left to right: Walter Gottschalk, Therese Gottschalk nee Molling, Freddy Gottschalk, the maid, Kurt Gottschalk, and Elizabeth Gottschalk

Family of Dr. Max and Helen Bejach portraits family

unidentified family members

New genetic loci link adipose and insulin biology to body fat distribution

Body fat distribution is a heritable trait and a well-established predictor of adverse metabolic outcomes, independent of overall adiposity. To increase our understanding of the genetic basis of body fat distribution and its molecular links to cardiometabolic traits, here we conduct genome-wide association meta-analyses of traits related to waist and hip circumferences in up to 224,459 individuals. We identify 49 loci (33 new) associated with waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index (BMI), and an additional 19 loci newly associated with related waist and hip circumference measures (P < 5 × 10−8). In total, 20 of the 49 waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI loci show significant sexual dimorphism, 19 of which display a stronger effect in women. The identified loci were enriched for genes expressed in adipose tissue and for putative regulatory elements in adipocytes. Pathway analyses implicated adipogenesis, angiogenesis, transcriptional regulation and insulin resistance as processes affecting fat distribution, providing insight into potential pathophysiological mechanisms.

Defining the role of common variation in the genomic and biological architecture of adult human height

Using genome-wide data from 253,288 individuals, we identified 697 variants at genome-wide significance that together explained one-fifth of the heritability for adult height. By testing different numbers of variants in independent studies, we show that the most strongly associated approximately 2,000, approximately 3,700 and approximately 9,500 SNPs explained approximately 21%, approximately 24% and approximately 29% of phenotypic variance. Furthermore, all common variants together captured 60% of heritability. The 697 variants clustered in 423 loci were enriched for genes, pathways and tissue types known to be involved in growth and together implicated genes and pathways not highlighted in earlier efforts, such as signaling by fibroblast growth factors, WNT/beta-catenin and chondroitin sulfate-related genes. We identified several genes and pathways not previously connected with human skeletal growth, including mTOR, osteoglycin and binding of hyaluronic acid. Our results indicate a genetic architecture for human height that is characterized by a very large but finite number (thousands) of causal variants.

Walter, Freddy, Kurt and Elizabeth Gottschalk with their mother Therese Gottschalk nee Molling, and the maid on an easter egg hunt; Hannover, Germany.

From left to right: Walter Gottschalk, Therese Gottschalk nee Molling, Freddy Gottschalk, the maid, Kurt Gottschalk, and Elizabeth Gottschalk

Family of Dr. Max and Helen Bejach portraits family

unidentified family members

Seminar with Helen Fein at the ZFA (Zentrum für Antisemitismusforschung; Center for Research on Antisemitism); Berlin Portraits Men

Participants include Christhard Hoffmann and Norbert Karpe

Eberstadt-Seligmann Family Collection 1772-1885

Family tree; six original family letters dealing with private affairs.

Myer S. Isaacs collection undated, 1844, 1851-1925

Contains correspondence and newspaper clippings relating to the centennial birthday celebration of and memorial services for Sir Moses Montefiore; correspondence consists primarily of replies to a circular advocating the holding of memorial services issued by the Board of Delegates on Civil and Religious Rights from congregations in Buffalo, Charleston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Detroit. Contains also correspondence relating to the activities of the Alliance Israelite Universelle on behalf of Palestine and the Jews in the Balkan States and Morocco and to the establishment of United States committees for the Alliance and the raising of funds, including correspondence with H. Pereira Mendes, Henry S. Jacobs, John Hay, and Adolphe Cremieux as well as letters from Baltimore, Cleveland, Detroit, Galveston, Minneapolis, Mobile, Rochester, St. Louis, and San Francisco. Also contains extensive correspondence concerning anti-semitism in Russia, aid to Jewish immigrants, and Jewish agricultural colonies in the United States, with letters from James G. Blaine, Manuel Augustus Kursheedt, Sabato Morais, Charles Nathan, Hirsch Leib Sabsovich, (Isaac N.?) Seligman and Judah Wechsler, among others. Also contains newspaper clippings and other items relating to Jewish life during the late 19th century and articles and memorabilia about various members of the Isaacs family.