This special section builds on recent scholarship on territory and borders to call for attention to the ways that bodies are central in their constitution. Through a wide range of case studies from ...the delivery room to Tahrir Square, the six contributors find territory and borders in unlikely places, and reveal new lines of inquiry through their explorations of the ways that bodies both are marked by territory and borders and take an active role in their making. The contributors bring together recent work on territory with literatures from a divergent set of literatures, including feminist geopolitics, queer theory and actor network theory, to build a case for an embodied and material understanding of the intersections of bodies, territory and borders. We argue that territory is made, in part, through bodies – an intimate geopolitics. Bodies challenge and subvert state control of territory, become vulnerable to violence due to state bordering practices, and experience and produce smaller-scale forms of territory in the refugee camp or hospital. Borders can limit our epistemological vision or expand it. Seeking to expand embodied nationalism and build on scholarship on globalisation that cuts across scale, we approach the body as an active, territorial agent in processes of border and territory-making. Here, territory becomes a versatile, but grounded and material, focal point, allowing for the embodied experiences of border-crossers, but also for other racialised, gendered and sexualised bodies as they give birth or seek to build neighbourhoods.
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BFBNIB, DOBA, FSPLJ, FZAB, GIS, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NLZOH, NMLJ, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
The 2011 Egyptian uprising, which brought an end to Hosni Mubarak's 30-year presidency, focused attention around the world on Cairo's Tahrir ('Liberation') Square. This became a focal point both for ...demonstrators and the Mubarak regime (not to mention media and commentators worldwide), and the 'vital signs' of both the uprising and the regime were frequently read through the events taking place in Tahrir at any given moment. Three years later, any 'revolution' remains far from complete, but I suggest that the occupation of Tahrir during 18 days of January and February 2011 can teach us a great deal about the revolutionary potential of the body and the importance of public space in producing new social and political structures through embodied practices. Feminist geographers have illustrated how geopolitical conflicts at the national and international levels create crises for bodies on the ground, and in the context of the Egyptian Uprising, anti-regime protestors indeed faced manifestations of the same violence on which the regime long rested its security, embodied by security forces and their instruments of inflicting harm and limiting mobility. At the same time, however, we can see in Tahrir the body's potential for creating crises for the state. In this article, I examine the ways in which the body, and groups of bodies, resisted the Mubarak regime and produced Tahrir as a revolutionary space, relying on media accounts, including media live-blogs that incorporated protestors' reports from the square, and a 'how-to-revolt' guide circulated by activists.
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BFBNIB, DOBA, FSPLJ, FZAB, GIS, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NLZOH, NMLJ, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
While SecA is the ATPase component of the major bacterial secretory (Sec) system, mycobacteria and some Gram-positive pathogens have a second paralog, SecA2. In bacteria with two SecA paralogs, each ...SecA is functionally distinct, and they cannot compensate for one another. Compared to SecA1, SecA2 exports a distinct and smaller set of substrates, some of which have roles in virulence. In the mycobacterial system, some SecA2-dependent substrates lack a signal peptide, while others contain a signal peptide but possess features in the mature protein that necessitate a role for SecA2 in their export. It is unclear how SecA2 functions in protein export, and one open question is whether SecA2 works with the canonical SecYEG channel to export proteins. In this study, we report the structure of Mycobacterium tuberculosis SecA2 (MtbSecA2), which is the first structure of any SecA2 protein. A high level of structural similarity is observed between SecA2 and SecA1. The major structural difference is the absence of the helical wing domain, which is likely to play a role in how MtbSecA2 recognizes its unique substrates. Importantly, structural features critical to the interaction between SecA1 and SecYEG are preserved in SecA2. Furthermore, suppressor mutations of a dominant-negative secA2 mutant map to the surface of SecA2 and help identify functional regions of SecA2 that may promote interactions with SecYEG or the translocating polypeptide substrate. These results support a model in which the mycobacterial SecA2 works with SecYEG.
SecA2 is a paralog of SecA1, which is the ATPase of the canonical bacterial Sec secretion system. SecA2 has a nonredundant function with SecA1, and SecA2 exports a distinct and smaller set of substrates than SecA1. This work reports the crystal structure of SecA2 of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (the first SecA2 structure reported for any organism). Many of the structural features of SecA1 are conserved in the SecA2 structure, including putative contacts with the SecYEG channel. Several structural differences are also identified that could relate to the unique function and selectivity of SecA2. Suppressor mutations of a secA2 mutant map to the surface of SecA2 and help identify functional regions of SecA2 that may promote interactions with SecYEG.
A systems analysis was conducted to determine the potential molecular mechanisms underlying differential immunogenicity and protective efficacy results of a clinical trial of the radiation-attenuated ...whole sporozoite PfSPZ Vaccine in African infants. Innate immune activation and myeloid signatures at pre-vaccination baseline correlated with protection from Pf parasitemia in placebo controls. These same signatures were associated with susceptibility to parasitemia among infants who received the highest and most protective PfSPZ Vaccine dose. Machine learning identified spliceosome, proteosome, and resting dendritic cell signatures as pre-vaccination features predictive of protection after highest-dose PfSPZ vaccination, whereas baseline CSP-specific IgG predicted non-protection. Pre-vaccination innate inflammatory and myeloid signatures were associated with higher sporozoite-specific IgG Ab response but undetectable PfSPZ-specific CD8+ T-cell responses post-vaccination. Consistent with these human data, innate stimulation in vivo conferred protection against infection by sporozoite injection in malaria-naïve mice while diminishing the CD8+ T-cell response to radiation-attenuated sporozoites. These data suggest a dichotomous role of innate stimulation for malaria protection and induction of protective immunity of whole-sporozoite malaria vaccines. The uncoupling of vaccine-induced protective immunity achieved by Abs from more protective CD8+ T cell responses suggest that PfSPZ Vaccine efficacy in malaria-endemic settings may be constrained by opposing antigen presentation pathways.
The 2011
E
gyptian uprising, which brought an end to
H
osni
M
ubarak's 30‐year presidency, focused attention around the world on
C
airo's
T
ahrir (‘Liberation’) Square. This became a focal point both ...for demonstrators and the
M
ubarak regime (not to mention media and commentators worldwide), and the ‘vital signs’ of both the uprising and the regime were frequently read through the events taking place in
T
ahrir at any given moment. Three years later, any ‘revolution’ remains far from complete, but I suggest that the occupation of
T
ahrir during 18 days of January and February 2011 can teach us a great deal about the revolutionary potential of the body and the importance of public space in producing new social and political structures through embodied practices. Feminist geographers have illustrated how geopolitical conflicts at the national and international levels create crises for bodies on the ground, and in the context of the
E
gyptian Uprising, anti‐regime protestors indeed faced manifestations of the same violence on which the regime long rested its security, embodied by security forces and their instruments of inflicting harm and limiting mobility. At the same time, however, we can see in
T
ahrir the body's potential for creating crises for the state. In this article, I examine the ways in which the body, and groups of bodies, resisted the Mubarak regime and produced
T
ahrir as a revolutionary space, relying on media accounts, including media live‐blogs that incorporated protestors' reports from the square, and a ‘how‐to‐revolt’ guide circulated by activists.
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BFBNIB, DOBA, FSPLJ, FZAB, GIS, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NLZOH, NMLJ, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
At a time when Palestine and Palestinians are ubiquitously framed through the “Israeli-Palestinian conflict” and the “peace process”, the spaces of everyday life for Palestinians are often ignored. ...This is in spite of the fact that so many of the Israeli policies and technologies of occupation and settlement are experienced materially by Palestinians in these spaces. In this dissertation, then, drawing on feminist geopolitics, I consider everyday Palestinian spaces like the home, neighborhood, and village—with a focus on Jerusalem—to better understand geographies of occupation and settlement in Palestine/Israel today. I argue, through attention to Palestinian experiences on the ground, that widespread representations of Jerusalem as either a “united” or “divided” city fail to capture the Palestinian experience, which is actually one of fragmentation, both physical and social. As a case study in fragmentation, I turn to the zoning of Israeli national parks in and between Palestinian neighborhoods, arguing that parks have served the purposes of settlement in less politicized ways than West Bank settlement blocs, but like the settlement blocs, have resulted in dispossession and restrictions on Palestinian construction, expansion, and movement. In the second half of the project, I turn to resistance against dispossession and the confines of the “peace process,” looking first at recent Palestinian and Israeli community mapping projects and arguing that they resist erasure and fragmentation through their maps and through the mapping process. Finally, while Palestinian refugees displaced in the creation of Israel are marginalized from the formal peace process, I argue that those internally displaced in Israel continue to politicize and struggle for their dispossessed homes, villages, and lands by challenging the state’s development plans and by planning alternative futures.
Objective
Ultrasound is widely regarded as an important adjunct to antenatal care (ANC) to guide practice and reduce perinatal mortality. We assessed the impact of ANC ultrasound use at health ...centres in resource‐limited countries.
Design
Cluster randomised trial.
Setting
Clusters within five countries (Democratic Republic of Congo, Guatemala, Kenya, Pakistan, and Zambia)
Methods
Clusters were randomised to standard ANC or standard care plus two ultrasounds and referral for complications. The study trained providers in intervention clusters to perform basic obstetric ultrasounds.
Main outcome measures
The primary outcome was a composite of maternal mortality, maternal near‐miss mortality, stillbirth, and neonatal mortality.
Results
During the 24‐month trial, 28 intervention and 28 control clusters had 24 263 and 23 160 births, respectively; 78% in the intervention clusters received at least one study ultrasound; 60% received two. The prevalence of conditions noted including twins, placenta previa, and abnormal lie was within expected ranges. 9% were referred for an ultrasound‐diagnosed condition, and 71% attended the referral. The ANC (RR 1.0 95% CI 1.00, 1.01) and hospital delivery rates for complicated pregnancies (RR 1.03 95% CI 0.89, 1.20) did not differ between intervention and control clusters nor did the composite outcome (RR 1.09 95% CI 0.97, 1.23) or its individual components.
Conclusions
Despite availability of ultrasound at ANC in the intervention clusters, neither ANC nor hospital delivery for complicated pregnancies increased. The composite outcome and the individual components were not reduced.
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Antenatal care ultrasound did not improve a composite outcome that included maternal, fetal, and neonatal mortality.
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Antenatal care ultrasound did not improve a composite outcome that included maternal, fetal, and neonatal mortality.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Launched in 1983, the Ahfad University for Women (AUW) - Iowa State University (ISU) Linkage enters its third decade as an educational and humanitarian collaboration addressing curriculum, research, ...outreach, and faculty development. As an equity model of collaboration and reciprocity, it focuses on shared values that are mutually beneficial and are related to each institution's mission to increase international understanding and advance program excellence, while making prominent the preparation of women as change agents. Through faculty exchanges, grants, graduate assistantships, a Fulbright Scholar Award, and shared expertise, individuals earn advanced degrees, curriculum and programs are substantially enhanced, valuable research and faculty development opportunities are available in unique world settings, and improvement of the human condition is realized. PUBLICATION ABSTRACT
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Improving maternal health has been a primary goal of international health agencies for many years, with the aim of reducing maternal and child deaths and improving access to antenatal care (ANC) ...services, particularly in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs). Health interventions with these aims have received more attention from a clinical effectiveness perspective than for cost impact and economic efficiency.
We collected data on resource use and costs as part of a large, multi-country study assessing the use of routine antenatal screening ultrasound (US) with the aim of considering the implications for economic efficiency. We assessed typical antenatal outpatient and hospital-based (facility) care for pregnant women, in general, with selective complication-related data collection in women participating in a large maternal health registry and clinical trial in five LMICs. We estimated average costs from a facility/health system perspective for outpatient and inpatient services. We converted all country-level currency cost estimates to 2015 United States dollars (USD). We compared average costs across countries for ANC visits, deliveries, higher-risk pregnancies, and complications, and conducted sensitivity analyses.
Our study included sites in five countries representing different regions. Overall, the relative cost of individual ANC and delivery-related healthcare use was consistent among countries, generally corresponding to country-specific income levels. ANC outpatient visit cost estimates per patient among countries ranged from 15 to 30 USD, based on average counts for visits with and without US. Estimates for antenatal screening US visits were more costly than non-US visits. Costs associated with higher-risk pregnancies were influenced by rates of hospital delivery by cesarean section (mean per person delivery cost estimate range: 25-65 USD).
Despite substantial differences among countries in infrastructures and health system capacity, there were similarities in resource allocation, delivery location, and country-level challenges. Overall, there was no clear suggestion that adding antenatal screening US would result in either major cost savings or major cost increases. However, antenatal screening US would have higher training and maintenance costs. Given the lack of clinical effectiveness evidence and greater resource constraints of LMICs, it is unlikely that introducing antenatal screening US would be economically efficient in these settings--on the demand side (i.e., patients) or supply side (i.e., healthcare providers).
Trial number: NCT01990625 (First posted: November 21, 2013 on https://clinicaltrials.gov ).
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Epigenetic variation describes heritable differences that are not attributable to changes in DNA sequence. There is the potential for pure epigenetic variation that occurs in the absence of any ...genetic change or for more complex situations that involve both genetic and epigenetic differences. Methylation of cytosine residues provides one mechanism for the inheritance of epigenetic information. A genome-wide profiling of DNA methylation in two different genotypes of Zea mays (ssp. mays), an organism with a complex genome of interspersed genes and repetitive elements, allowed the identification and characterization of examples of natural epigenetic variation. The distribution of DNA methylation was profiled using immunoprecipitation of methylated DNA followed by hybridization to a high-density tiling microarray. The comparison of the DNA methylation levels in the two genotypes, B73 and Mo17, allowed for the identification of approximately 700 differentially methylated regions (DMRs). Several of these DMRs occur in genomic regions that are apparently identical by descent in B73 and Mo17 suggesting that they may be examples of pure epigenetic variation. The methylation levels of the DMRs were further studied in a panel of near-isogenic lines to evaluate the stable inheritance of the methylation levels and to assess the contribution of cis- and trans- acting information to natural epigenetic variation. The majority of DMRs that occur in genomic regions without genetic variation are controlled by cis-acting differences and exhibit relatively stable inheritance. This study provides evidence for naturally occurring epigenetic variation in maize, including examples of pure epigenetic variation that is not conditioned by genetic differences. The epigenetic differences are variable within maize populations and exhibit relatively stable trans-generational inheritance. The detected examples of epigenetic variation, including some without tightly linked genetic variation, may contribute to complex trait variation.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
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