Based on an empirical case study of transnational (United States and Australia) youth net-radio users, this article evaluates theoretical debates between the classic and contemporary post-subcultural ...theories. This article seeks to bridge the two theoretical strands and re-evaluates the role of style, resistance, and social class in subcultural theory by relating them to the dynamics of a transnational youth net-radio hierarchy. This net-radio hierarchy is defined by youths' musical tastes; how much power 16 users have over their net-radio consumption and production practices, and their resistance to traditional radio.
There is growing interest in the role of gut microbiome composition in schizophrenia. However, lifestyle factors are often neglected, and few studies have investigated microbiome composition in ...treatment-resistant schizophrenia.
To explore associations between the gut microbiome and schizophrenia diagnosis, treatment resistance, clozapine response, and treatment-related adverse effects while adjusting for demographic and lifestyle factors.
In this case-control study of adults aged 20 to 63 years, stool samples and data on demographic characteristics, lifestyle, and medication use were collected and gut microbiome measures obtained using shotgun metagenomics. Participants with a schizophrenia diagnosis were referred through psychiatric inpatient units and outpatient clinics. Data were collected for 4 distinct groups: control individuals without a psychiatric diagnosis (past or present), individuals with treatment-responsive schizophrenia taking nonclozapine antipsychotic medications, clozapine-responsive individuals with treatment-resistant schizophrenia, and clozapine-nonresponsive individuals with treatment-resistant schizophrenia. Participants were recruited between November 2020 and November 2021. Control individuals were recruited in parallel through posters and online advertisements and matched for age, sex, and body mass index (BMI) to the individuals with schizophrenia. Participants were excluded if taking antibiotics in the past 2 months, if unable to communicate in English or otherwise follow study instructions, were pregnant or planning to become pregnant, or had any concomitant disease or condition making them unsuited to the study per investigator assessment. Data were analyzed from January 2022 to March 2023.
Omics relationship matrices, α and β diversity, and relative abundance of microbiome features.
Data were collected for 97 individuals (71 74% male; mean SD age, 40.4 10.3 years; mean SD BMI, 32.8 7.4, calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared). Significant microbiome associations with schizophrenia were observed at multiple taxonomic and functional levels (eg, common species: b2, 30%; SE, 13%; adjusted P = .002) and treatment resistance (eg, common species: b2, 27%; SE, 16%; adjusted P = .03). In contrast, limited evidence was found for microbiome associations with clozapine response, constipation, or metabolic syndrome. Significantly decreased microbial richness was found in individuals with schizophrenia compared to control individuals (t95 = 4.25; P < .001; mean SD for control individuals, 151.8 32.31; mean SD for individuals with schizophrenia, 117.00 36.2; 95% CI, 18.6-51.0), which remained significant after a covariate and multiple comparison correction. However, limited evidence was found for differences in β diversity (weighted UniFrac) for schizophrenia diagnosis (permutational multivariate analysis of variance PERMANOVA: R2, 0.03; P = .02), treatment resistance (R2, 0.02; P = .18), or clozapine response (R2, 0.04; P = .08). Multiple differentially abundant bacterial species (19) and metabolic pathways (162) were found in individuals with schizophrenia, which were primarily associated with treatment resistance and clozapine exposure.
The findings in this study are consistent with the idea that clozapine induces alterations to gut microbiome composition, although the possibility that preexisting microbiome differences contribute to treatment resistance cannot be ruled out. These findings suggest that prior reports of microbiome alterations in individuals with chronic schizophrenia may be due to medication or lifestyle factors and that future studies should incorporate these variables in their design and interpretation.
The coccolithophores, particularly the species
Emiliania huxleyi (Lohmann) Hay & Mohler, account for the bulk of global calcium carbonate production and as such play a fundamental role in global CO
2 ...cycling and the carbonate chemistry of the oceans. To evaluate the response of this functional group to the effects of climate change, we undertook a feasibility study to determine whether a retrospective approach could be used on archived coccolithophore datasets. We demonstrate for the first time a technique for the extraction of
E. huxleyi nucleic acids from archived formalin-fixed samples of the long-term Continuous Plankton Recorder. Molecular analysis of a nine year old formalin-fixed sample reveals the presence of a diverse population of
E. huxleyi genotypes within a developing coccolithophore bloom. In addition,
E. huxleyi sequences were amplified from a number of formalin-fixed samples, the earliest of which was collected in August 1972. This molecular assay promises the possibility of studying global variations in the distribution and genetic make-up of
E. huxleyi communities over extensive periods of time.
Diel studies of an Emiliania huxleyi bloom within a mesocosm revealed a highly dynamic associated viral community, changing on small times scales of hours.
Southern Africa's unique global position has given rise to a dynamic climate influenced by large sea surface temperature gradients and seasonal fluctuations in the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone. ...Due to the semi-arid climate of the region, terrestrial palaeorecords are rare and our understanding of the long-term sensitivity of Southern African terrestrial ecosystems to climatic drivers is ambiguous. A 810cm continuous peat core was extracted from the Mfabeni peatland with a 14C basal age of c. 47thousandyears calibrated before present (kcalyr BP), positioning it as one of the oldest known sub-tropical coastal peatlands in Southern Africa. This peat core provides an opportunity to investigate palaeoenvironmental changes in subtropical Southern Africa since the late Pleistocene. Biomarker (n-alkane, n-alkanoic acid and n-alkanol) analysis, in conjunction with previously published bulk geochemical data, was employed to reconstruct organic matter (OM) sources, rates of OM remineralisation and peatland hydrology. Our results showed that the principal OM source into the peatland was emergent and terrestrial plants with exception of shallow lake conditions when submerged macrophytes dominated (c. 44.5–42.6, 29.7, 26.1–23.1, 16.7–7.1 and 2.2kcalyr BP). n-Alkane proxies suggest that local plant assemblages were predominantly influenced by peatland hydrology. By incorporating temperature sensitive n-alkanoic acid and n-alkanol proxies, it was possible to disentangle the local temperature and precipitation changes. We report large variations in precipitation intensities, but subdued temperature fluctuations during the late Pleistocene. The Holocene period was characterised by overall elevated temperatures and precipitation compared to the preceding glacial period, interspersed with a millennial scale cooling event. A close link between the Mfabeni archive and adjacent Indian Ocean marine core records was observed, suggesting the regional ocean surface temperatures to be the dominant climate driver in this region since the late Pleistocene.
•Biomarkers indicate predominant emergent & terrestrial plant OM source.•Increased submerged plant input records periods of elevated peatland water levels.•Large variations in rainfall, but subdued temperatures during late Pleistocene•Elevated temperatures and moisture during Holocene interspersed with cooling event•Close link between Indian Ocean SST and Mfabeni archive biomarker proxies
The global Mastering of a Music City report in 2015 notes that the concept of music cities has penetrated the global political vernacular because it delivers “significant economic, employment, ...cultural and social benefits.” This article highlights that no empirical study has combined all these values and offers a relevant and comprehensive definition of a music city. Drawing on industry research,1 the article assesses how mathematical flowcharts, such as Algorithm A (Economics), Algorithm B (Four T’s creative index), and Algorithm C (Heritage), have contributed to the definition of a music city. Taking Melbourne as a case study, it illustrates how Algorithms A and B are used as disputed evidence about whether the city is touted as Australia’s music capital. The article connects the three algorithms to an academic framework from musicology, urban studies, cultural economics, and sociology, and proposes a benchmark Algorithm D (Music Cities definition), which offers a more holistic assessment of music activity in any urban context. The article concludes by arguing that Algorithm D offers a much-needed definition of what comprises a music city because it builds on the popular political economy focus and includes the social importance of space and cultural practices.
The imprisonment of Al Jazeera English (AJE) journalists (Australian Peter Greste, Egyptian-Canadian national Mohamed Fahmy, and Egyptian Baher Mohamed) in Egypt between 2013 and 2015 reflected the ...recent ten agenda items of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) about the safety of journalists (Pöyhtäri & Berger, 2015). Building on the relevance of press theories (Siebert, Peterson, & Schramm, 1956; Curran, 2002) as well as developmental and peace journalism (Carpentier, 2007 cited in Cammaerts & Carpentier, 2007) as a theoretical basis, this paper examines the twenty-one month reportage of the AJE case by public broadcasters such as AJE, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). It assesses whether the UNESCO's Safety of Journalist agenda was covered. A "mixed method" (Kolmer, 2008), quantitative and qualitative content analysis research design, was used. Four hundred and ninety-five articles from the three broadcasters' coverage were analyzed in two stages which overall began from the day (December 29, 2013) of arrest of the AJE trio until a week after Fahmy's and Mohamed's final release (September 30, 2015). The analysis found that items noted in the UNESCO's Safety of Journalists' agenda were not overtly spelt out in the coverage by the broadcasters but cloaked under a wider press freedom framework that hung over the case. Findings also reflected the critical need to address the safety of journalists in Egypt and other parts of Africa, despite the democratic awaking of the 2011 Arab Spring. PUBLICATION ABSTRACT
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