scholarly journals Microtubule Cytoskeleton and Spermatogenesis—Lesson From Studies of Toxicant Models

2020 ◽  
Vol 177 (2) ◽  
pp. 305-315 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lingling Wang ◽  
Ming Yan ◽  
Siwen Wu ◽  
Baiping Mao ◽  
Chris K C Wong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Structure ◽  
Bisphenol A ◽  
Sertoli Cells ◽  
Environmental Toxicants ◽  
Microtubule Cytoskeleton ◽  
The Past ◽  
Cellular Events ◽  
Per Se ◽  
To Come

Abstract Studies have shown that mammalian testes, in particular the Sertoli cells, are highly susceptible to exposure of environmental toxicants, such as cadmium, perfluorooctanesulfonate, phthalates, 2,5-hexanedione and bisphenol A. However, important studies conducted by reproductive toxicologists and/or biologists in the past have been treated as toxicology reports per se. Yet, many of these studies provided important mechanistic insights on the toxicant-induced testis injury and reproductive dysfunction, relevant to the biology of the testis and spermatogenesis. Furthermore, recent studies have shown that findings obtained from toxicant models are exceedingly helpful tools to unravel the biology of testis function in particular spermatogenesis, including specific cellular events associated with spermatid transport to support spermiogenesis and spermiation. In this review, we critically evaluate some recent data, focusing primarily on the molecular structure and role of microtubules in cellular function, illustrating the importance of toxicant models to unravel the biology of microtubule cytoskeleton in supporting spermatogenesis, well beyond information on toxicology. These findings have opened up some potential areas of research which should be carefully evaluated in the years to come.

scholarly journals COVID-19: Anthropocene and Capitalocene Caused Pandemics

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 15-21
Author(s):  
Madhusudan Subedi
Keyword(s):  
National Level ◽  
Epidemiological Studies ◽  
Historical Inquiry ◽  
Journal Articles ◽  
Global Effect ◽  
The Past ◽  
Fundamental Causes ◽  
History Of ◽  
To Come

  Most epidemiological studies focus on the direct causes of diseases while wider, social causal factors are ignored. This paper briefly highlights the history of major epidemics and the role of Anthropocene and Capitalocene for the emergence and reemergence of pandemics like COVID-19. Books, journal articles, and statistics offer information that can explain the phenomena. A historical inquiry can inform us about the fundamental causes of pandemics. Human security and ecology are intertwined, and the global effect of pandemics responded to at the national level is inadequate. The lessons from the past and present help us devise effective ethically and socially appropriate strategies to mitigate the threats. If the present crisis is not taken seriously at the global level, the world has to face more difficult challenges in years to come.

The End of Art and the Non-End of Religion: Hegel on Aesthetics and Religion

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-25
Author(s):  
David Lê
Keyword(s):  
Social Life ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Modern Life ◽  
The Past ◽  
Per Se ◽  
End Of Art ◽  
Role Of Religion

Abstract While Hegel’s infamous “end of art” thesis states that art is “for us, a thing of the past” he insists that philosophy and, to a degree that is often underestimated by contemporary readers, religion endure within the structure of modern life. In this paper I aim to demonstrate how by focusing on Hegel’s claim that religion meets no end, we can come to a better understanding of how and why he thinks art does end. This will lead us away from common, but false, picture of Hegel as being indifferent (or even hostile) to art’s sensuous mode of intelligibility. Inasmuch as religion remains both necessarily sensuous and a component of social life that realizes freedom and divinity within modernity, the “problem” with art cannot be its sensuousness per se. What art ultimately finds itself unable to do, and what religion can do, is find a way to reconcile the destabilizing force of individual, subjective freedom with a jointly-held representation of who and what we are and what we value most, what Hegel calls “divinity” (das Göttliche). By countenancing the vital role of religion in Hegel’s thought, we can therefore better understand one of his most famous, and least understood philosophical claims.

scholarly journals Dynein 1 supports spermatid transport and spermiation during spermatogenesis in the rat testis

2018 ◽  
Vol 315 (5) ◽  
pp. E924-E948 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qing Wen ◽  
Elizabeth I. Tang ◽  
Wing-yee Lui ◽  
Will M. Lee ◽  
Chris K. C. Wong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Germ Cell ◽  
Heavy Chain ◽  
Sertoli Cells ◽  
Cytoplasmic Dynein ◽  
Seminiferous Epithelium ◽  
Organelle Transport ◽  
Cellular Events

In the mammalian testis, spermatogenesis is dependent on the microtubule (MT)-specific motor proteins, such as dynein 1, that serve as the engine to support germ cell and organelle transport across the seminiferous epithelium at different stages of the epithelial cycle. Yet the underlying molecular mechanism(s) that support this series of cellular events remain unknown. Herein, we used RNAi to knockdown cytoplasmic dynein 1 heavy chain (Dync1h1) and an inhibitor ciliobrevin D to inactivate dynein in Sertoli cells in vitro and the testis in vivo, thereby probing the role of dynein 1 in spermatogenesis. Both treatments were shown to extensively induce disruption of MT organization across Sertoli cells in vitro and the testis in vivo. These changes also perturbed the transport of spermatids and other organelles (such as phagosomes) across the epithelium. These changes thus led to disruption of spermatogenesis. Interestingly, the knockdown of dynein 1 or its inactivation by ciliobrevin D also perturbed gross disruption of F-actin across the Sertoli cells in vitro and the seminiferous epithelium in vivo, illustrating there are cross talks between the two cytoskeletons in the testis. In summary, these findings confirm the role of cytoplasmic dynein 1 to support the transport of spermatids and organelles across the seminiferous epithelium during the epithelial cycle of spermatogenesis.

Anthropology Meets History

2012 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 20-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Giordano
Keyword(s):  
Social Resource ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
The Past ◽  
Or Groups ◽  
The Future ◽  
Per Se

This article analyses the difficult relation between anthropology and history. The point, therefore, is to show how anthropology conceptualises the past differently from history as a discipline. Beginning with the differences between anthropology and history in terms of the concept of time, the article highlights that while for history time is concrete, objective and exogenous to human beings, for anthropology it is characterised by its being condensed, collectively subjective and endogenous. By analyzing actual examples, the article shows that the anthropologist is not interested in the past per se, but rather in the past as a dimension of the present. Accordingly, actualised, revised and manipulated history as well as the role of the past in the present need to be taken into account. Consequently, history and the past have their own specific efficiency because they are also a form of knowledge and social resource mobilised by single individuals or groups to find their bearings and act accordingly in the present and likewise to plan the future.

Gaspirali v. Il'Minskii: Two Identity Projects for the Muslims of the Russian Empire

2002 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 265-289 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mustafa Özgür Tuna
Keyword(s):  
Russian Empire ◽  
Russian Orthodox ◽  
Literary Language ◽  
Islamic Studies ◽  
The Past ◽  
Underlying Causes ◽  
Per Se ◽  
Points Of View ◽  
The Russian Empire

In 1913, an article in a Russian missionary journal compared two “very typical representatives” of Islamic studies in Russia: İsmail Bey Gaspıralı (1851–1914) and Nikolai Ivanovich Il'minskii (1822–1891). Nothing could better symbolize the two opposing points of view about the past, present and future of the Muslims of Russia in 1913. Il'minskii was a Russian Orthodox missionary whose ideas and efforts had formed the imperial perceptions and policies about the Muslims of the Russian empire in the late Tsarist period, while Gaspıralı was a Muslim educator and publisher whose ideas and efforts had shaped the Muslim society per se in the same period. Il'minskii, beginning in the 1860s, and Gaspıralı, beginning in the 1880s, developed two formally similar but inherently contradictory programs for the Muslims of the Russian empire. Schooling and the creation of a literary language or literary languages constituted the hearts of both of their programs. Besides their own efforts, both Gaspıralı and Il'minskii had a large number of followers that diligently worked to put their programs into practice among the Muslims of Russia. As a result of the inherent contradiction of these programs, a bitter controversy developed between what we may call the Il'minskii and Gaspıralı groups, which particularly intensified after the revolution of 1905. In this article, I will discuss the underlying causes and development of this controversy by focusing on the role of language in the programs of Gaspıralı and Il'minskii. Then, I will conclude my article with an evaluation of the legacies of these two individuals in their own time and beyond.

scholarly journals Role of Individual Academics and International Universities in Health Research in Nepal

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 179-81
Author(s):  
P Simkhada ◽  
E Van Teijlingen
Keyword(s):  
Critical Appraisal ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Epidemiological Studies ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Know How ◽  
The Past ◽  
To Come ◽  
Changes Over Time

Nepal has made progress in health sciences and medical education over the past decade. We believe that there is a need in Nepal for a greater research emphasis on mixed-methods approaches, qualitative research, critical appraisal & systematic reviewing and health economics. Specifically to the discipline of epidemiology, Nepal should consider establishing more and better epidemiological studies, the kind of population-based studies that can identify risk factors, track changes over time at a population level over the decades to come.  We know how important such long-term research is but we are also painfully aware how expensive this kind on long-term research can be.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/nje.v2i2.6572 Nepal Journal of Epidemiology 2012;2(2):179-81 

scholarly journals The complement system: an evolution in progress

F1000Research ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 2840 ◽  
Author(s):  
Berhane Ghebrehiwet
Keyword(s):  
Complement System ◽  
Pathogenic Microorganisms ◽  
Tissue Destruction ◽  
Contact Activation ◽  
Innate And Adaptive Immunity ◽  
Major Function ◽  
The Past ◽  
To Come ◽  
The Complement System

The complement system, which consists of three independent but interacting pathways, constitutes a powerful arm of innate immunity. Its major function is to recognize and destroy pathogenic microorganisms as well as eliminate modified self-antigens. Although it is a fine-tuned system with innate capacity to discriminate self from non-self as well as danger from non-danger signals, an unwarranted activation can nonetheless occur and cause tissue destruction. To prevent such activation, specific regulators present both in plasma and on the cell surface tightly control it. Data accumulated over the past four decades have also shown that the complement system is capable of not only cross-talk with the activation cascades of plasma––i.e. blood coagulation, contact activation, and the kinin/kallikrein system––but also serving as a bridge between innate and adaptive immunity. It is for these reasons that the various activation steps of the complement system have been recently targeted for therapy to treat diseases in which the role of complement is beyond doubt. This trend will certainly continue for years to come, especially as novel concepts guiding the field into areas never contemplated before are continuing to be discovered.

The role of life histories in an age of apology: A presence of the past?

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lieselot De Wilde ◽  
Bruno Vanobbergen ◽  
Griet Roets
Keyword(s):  
Oral History ◽  
Life Histories ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Historical Narrative ◽  
Western World ◽  
Social Work Research ◽  
The Past ◽  
Out Of Home Care ◽  
To Come

Based on an oral history study that retrospectively explores the life histories of former orphans in the city of Ghent (Belgium) after the Second World War, we analyse and critique the role of historical research in the current apology trend. Due to the crucial role of (oral) history in these out-of-home care inquiries, these official public apologies, offered by the state as an attempt to come to terms with the past, deserve some specific academic attention in social work research. By inquiring into historical abuse in child welfare and educational institutions, governments of the Western world attempt to close a rather dark chapter in their national histories. Relying on research insights emerging from our research project with formerly orphaned children, we argue that it is impossible to puzzle together one common historical narrative. Moreover, we discovered that the history of the Ghent orphanages is still very much debated and alive more than 35 years after their doors were closed. In this article, we tease out how life histories can play a role in Western welfare states today. We therefore explore the relevance of the notion of ‘presence’ in order to rethink the relationship between the past and the present.

Time to re-think agricultural phosphorus modelling for the 2020s  

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer M. Davies ◽  
Victoria Janes-Bassett ◽  
Martin Blackwell ◽  
Andrew Burgess ◽  
Jessica Davies ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Production Systems ◽  
Agricultural Soils ◽  
Widespread Application ◽  
Disciplinary Boundaries ◽  
The Past ◽  
Soil Systems ◽  
To Come ◽  
Phosphorus Modelling

<div> <p>Phosphorus (P) is critical to our food production systems with many crop systems dependent on continual inputs to meet yield demands. However, a consequence of the widespread application of P to agricultural soils in the past 60 years has led to concerns about the long-term sustainability of P fertiliser supply and to P being transferred from soil systems to watercourses, causing diffuse pollution. This highlights the multi-scaled and interdisciplinary nature of the past, present and future of P management.  </p> </div><div> <p>The aim of this research is to define a starting framework to consider the best ways to develop a model that addresses the contemporary understanding of P processes, integrating the needs of the crop, with biogeochemical and hydrological modelling considerations, going beyond P transfer to the role of P in both food and water challenges.  </p> </div><div> <p>So, this review explores some of the current P models and the future opportunities for expanding their representation of P processes in agricultural systems. This goes beyond nesting existing models and reshapes approaches to posing research and modelling questions to achieve P models that cross disciplinary boundaries and have meaning and usability in practice. As part of this contribution, we welcome modellers and P scientists to come forward and help drive this complex issue of P in agriculture. </p> </div>

scholarly journals The gut in iron homeostasis: role of HIF-2 under normal and pathological conditions

Blood ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 122 (6) ◽  
pp. 885-892 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Mastrogiannaki ◽  
Pavle Matak ◽  
Carole Peyssonnaux
Keyword(s):  
Iron Homeostasis ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Iron Absorption ◽  
Hypoxia Inducible Factor ◽  
Therapeutic Strategies ◽  
The Past ◽  
Pathological Conditions ◽  
Per Se ◽  
Key Genes

Abstract Although earlier, seminal studies demonstrated that the gut per se has the intrinsic ability to regulate the rates of iron absorption, the spotlight in the past decade has been placed on the systemic regulation of iron homeostasis by the hepatic hormone hepcidin and the molecular mechanisms that regulate its expression. Recently, however, attention has returned to the gut based on the finding that hypoxia inducible factor-2 (HIF-2α) regulates the expression of key genes that contribute to iron absorption. Here we review the current understanding of the molecular mechanisms that regulate iron homeostasis in the gut by focusing on the role of HIF-2 under physiological steady-state conditions and in the pathogenesis of iron-related diseases. We also discuss implications for adapting HIF-2–based therapeutic strategies in iron-related pathological conditions.

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