Indiscriminate Killing Research Articles

Adding Selectivity to Antimicrobial Peptides: Rational Design of a Multidomain Peptide against Pseudomonas spp

Currently available antimicrobials exhibit broad killing with regard to bacterial genera and species. Indiscriminate killing of microbes by these conventional antibiotics can disrupt the ecological balance of the indigenous microbial flora, often resulting in negative clinical consequences. Species-specific antimicrobials capable of precisely targeting pathogenic bacteria without damaging benign microorganisms provide a means of avoiding this problem. In this communication, we report the successful creation of the first synthetic, target-specific antimicrobial peptide, G10KHc, via addition of a rationally designed Pseudomonas-specific targeting moiety (KH) to a generally killing peptide (novispirin G10). The resulting chimeric peptide showed enhanced bactericidal activity and faster killing kinetics against Pseudomonas spp. than G10 alone. The enhanced killing activities are due to increased binding and penetration of the outer membrane of Pseudomonas sp. cells. These properties were not observed in tests of untargeted bacterial species, and this specificity allowed G10KHc to selectively eliminate Pseudomonas spp. from mixed cultures. This work lays a foundation for generating target-specific "smart" antimicrobials to complement currently available conventional antibiotics.

Infanticide and control of reproduction in cooperative and communal breeders

Many communal breeders are characterized by a conflict over who gets to reproduce, with dominant individuals often claiming the largest share of reproduction in the group. How do dominants control breeding in these species? Although infanticide has often been invoked as a means of control, previous theoretical work on indiscriminate killing of young did not support this idea. There is, however, increasing evidence from field studies in both vertebrates and insects that infanticidal individuals can discriminate between their own offspring and those of other group members, and thus avoid the risk of accidentally killing their own progeny. In a simple game-theoretical model we demonstrate that the capacity for discriminate infanticide can promote high reproductive skew even though few or no offspring are actually killed. When discrimination is good and offspring are cheap to produce, the threat of infanticide prevents the subordinate cobreeder from adding many young to the joint brood, and no killing need occur. High levels of infanticide tend to occur only when discrimination is poor, costs of offspring production are low and/or relatedness is low.

Legacy of Bitterness: Insurgency in North West Rwanda

The insurgency in North West Rwanda is a good example of a small scale conflict that provides a first step into the more complex world of regional instability in central Africa. Following the genocide of 1994, genocidaires and ex-military personnel fled to what was then Zaire and established a network of anti-Tutsi bases. Linking up with local groups in Eastern Zaire, these insurgents, usually known as ‘infiltrators’ have carried out a low-intensity but consistent insurgency campaign in Rwanda. 1. To avoid numerous references to the ‘former Zaire’, the term Zaire is used before May 1997. The constant barrage of propaganda aimed at the local population, a technique pioneered during the 1994 genocide, has led to a general, manufactured support for the insurgency. In particular, those people returning from Zaire have been fed a constant diet of anti-Tutsi and Rwandese Patriotic Army (RPA) propaganda, making it easier to act against these groups. Even within the local government and other official bodies, there are widespread Hutu sympathies that have led to additional aid reaching the insurgents. The particular strain of ethnic violence has led to an insurgency in which civilian villages are as likely to be attacked as RPA military installations. More surprising, given the nature of the insurgency, Hutus themselves have been targets. Initially, moderate Hutus were singled out as examples, but increasingly indiscriminate killings have been aiming to force all Hutus to take sides. The insurgents have deliberately polarised large parts of Rwanda and this has profound implications for conflict resolution. In particular, supplementing the military campaign with political social campaigns, at least partly to combat the mythology of grievance among the Hutus, and tackling the conflict as part of a supra-national conflict that goes beyond ‘national’ borders.

Predicting Red Wolf Release Success in the Southeastern United States

Although the red wolf (Canis rufus) was once found throughout the southeastern United States, indiscriminate killing and habitat destruction reduced its range to a small section of coastal Texas and Louisiana. Wolves trapped from 1973 to 1980 were taken to establish a captive breeding program that was used to repatriate 2 mainland and 3 island red wolf populations. We collected data from 320 red wolf releases in these areas and classified each as a success or failure based on survival and reproductive criteria, and whether recaptures were necessary to resolve conflicts with humans. We evaluated the relations between release success and conditions at the release sites, characteristics of released wolves, and release procedures. Although <44% of the variation in release success was explained, model performance based on jackknife tests indicated a 72-80% correct prediction rate for the 4 operational models we developed. The models indicated that success was associated with human influences on the landscape and the level of wolf habituation to humans prior to release. We applied the models to 31 prospective areas for wolf repatriation and calculated an index of release success for each area. Decision-makers can use these models to objectively rank prospective release areas and compare strengths and weaknesses of each.

John Derricke’s Image of Irelande, Sir Henry Sidney, and the massacre at Mullaghmast, 1578

One of the bitterest fruits of human conflict is the resort to massacre. From the St Bartholomew’s Day massacre in 1572 to ethnic cleansing in Bosnia, combatants have regularly attempted to defeat their enemies through acts of indiscriminate killing. The history of early modern European colonial expansion is replete with such incidents. The remembering and recounting of them has become the stuff of historical and political controversy. The aim of this article is not to review these painful episodes, but to examine the sixteenth-century context in which these resorts to massacre occurred; to focus on one particular atrocity that achieved some notoriety in Ireland in the early modern period; and to suggest that a now largely forgotten episode, at Mullaghmast in County Kildare in 1578, was part of a pattern of conquest which implicated not only the soldiers and settlers who served in the Gaelic localities, but also the upper echelons of the English administration in Ireland. This pattern was accompanied by an apologetic ideology of civility and savagery best reflected in a central text, John Derricke’s Image of Irelande (1581). Derricke’s Image provides us with sufficient evidence to suggest that indiscriminate slaughter was an accepted tool in the effort to subdue Gaelic Ireland. Indeed, Derricke’s text adds weight to the conclusion that the atrocity at Mullaghmast in 1578 implicates no less a figure than Sir Henry Sidney, the quintessential renaissance English official in Ireland. Mullaghmast is important not only because it demonstrates the officially sanctioned brutality of the conquest, but also because it raises the question of how memory and history are constructed.

The Fate of T Cells in the Brain: Veni, Vidi, Vici and Veni, Mori

Since the dawn of modern immunology, immune responses within the central nervous system (CNS) have puzzled immunologists. On one hand, the immune-privileged status of the CNS has been known for a long time; along with the eye, the gonads, and the placenta, the CNS is among the few organs that accept grafted foreign cells more readily than the rest of the body. 1 On the other hand, the CNS has been known to be particularly susceptible to autoimmune disease. The first and best characterized autoimmune model, experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE), which resembles multiple sclerosis (MS), is the result of an autoimmune attack by T lymphocytes on the CNS. 2 A report on EAE in this issue 3 by Bauer et al provides data of exceptional clarity that should help in understanding this apparent contradiction. Neuroantigen-specific T cells, which can mount an autoimmune attack against the CNS, are detectable in healthy individuals. This is particularly well established for T cells that are specific for myelin basic protein (MBP), the best-characterized target antigen in the CNS. Studies using MBP-specific T cell receptor-transgenic mice suggested that these T cells normally ignore the autoantigen. 4-6 Like lymphocytes that have not encountered their antigen before, they retain a naive/resting phenotype. Such T cells dramatically change their behavior as soon as they become activated in the course of an immune response; they start to infiltrate the CNS and cause inflammatory damage there. In experimental models EAE is initiated either by immunization with a CNS antigen (for active EAE) or by in vitro injection of activated CNS antigen-specific T cells (for passive EAE, the model used by Bauer et al). In MS, infections with crossreactive microorganisms are thought to initiate the autoimmune attack. It remains unclear why activated myelin-reactive T cells “see” and attack the autoantigen that resting T cells with the same specificity had ignored. The information needed to promote resolution of this question pertains to the rules that govern the entry of lymphocytes into CNS tissue. This issue was addressed by Bauer et al. They injected into rats congenic T cells specific for either various CNS “self” antigens (Bauer et al, Table 1) or for the irrelevant “foreign” antigen ovalbumin (OVA). To distinguish clearly between injected T cells with a defined specificity and activation state and recruited host-derived T cells of unknown specificity and activation state, the authors took advantage of a TK-tsa-transgenic model. The detection of the TK-tsA transgene by in situ hybridization facilitated reliable discrimination of the injected T cells from those of the host.

The changing role of civilian surgeons in conflicts: A meta‐analysis of epidemiological data

Surgical activities in recent conflicts were reviewed based on the published epidemiological data. Ten articles on seven conflicts were identified and reviewed. The surgical activities in these articles were classified into three categories based on their activities: type 1, civilian border camp surgical activities; type 2, military hospitals in military deployment; type 3, civilian hospitals in former Yugoslavia or Palestine camp (most recent conflicts). Comparison of injuries in ratios of head‐to‐extremities, and critical part‐to‐extremities, among these three different types of surgical activity showed that type 3 hospitals had a statistically higher number of critical part injuries compared to the other two types of hospital. Type 3 hospitals represent the most recent endemic, regional and indiscriminate killing experiences. The high rates of critical part trauma in studies of recent conflicts show the increasing importance of trauma management skills by civilian surgeons in recent conflicts. Exchange of information among civilian surgeons serving in these difficult and dangerous conditions should be encouraged.

The Fall of Lydda

The Fall of Lydda

Christians, Muslims, and the "Liberation" of the Holy Land

PENNY J. COLE* But after the creation of the world, with the exception of the mystery of the cross of salvation, what greater miracle has been enacted than what has occurred in our own day, namely, the journey of our Jerusalemites? 1 With this intimation of the uncommon nature of his subject, Robert the Monk, the Benedictine prior of Senuc, begins his account of the achievements of the great expeditionary force which is now called the First Crusade. The army, which of unprecedented size, is reckoned to have numbered between 50,000 and 60,000 armed combatants.2 In 1096 the main body left points in western Europe and remustered at Constantinople in the spring of 1097. At this point, those who had survived the march had covered a distance of approximately 2400 kilometers.3 From Constantinople, they advanced in a path of bloody destruction through Anatolia, northern Syria, and Palestine, and in June, 1099, drew up before the walls of Jerusalem occupied now by the Egyptian Fatimids. The soldiers of Christ, the milites Christi, as the crusaders were called, had reached their destination, but of the original combatants, only 13,000 had survived to savor the success.4 Their siege of the holy city hard-fought, but on July 15 they scaled the rampart and the Egyptian defense collapsed. The crusaders' capture of Christ's holy city of Jerusalem a victory of unprecedented magnitude, and it quickly became the subject of historical narratives written between 1099 and 1108 both by those who had campaigned, such as Fulcher of Chartres,5 Raymond of Aguilers,6 Peter lidebode,7 and an anonymous Norman from south Italy,8 and by those such as Robert the Monk,9 Baudri of Dol,10 and Guibert of Nogent11 who had not. While these historians evince a lively diversity in style and sophistication of historical understanding,12 they share the crucially important views that the crusaders' capture of Jerusalem vindicated Christianity over paganism, and that the city's capture had been a religious liberation achieved through acts of meritorious brutality. In his account, Robert the Monk boasts that for Godfrey of Bouillon and a certain Guicherius, the capture of Jerusalem afforded an unprecedented and welcome opportunity for killing. They clove countless human bodies from head to toe, Robert says, and pierced them through both their sides.13 At the same time, however, he is careful to indicate that the indiscriminate killing of Jerusalem's inhabitants not the prerogative simply of these two heroes. Not one of our men, Robert says approvingly, was lethargic, not one squeamish. 14 Warming to his subject, Robert deploys the language of the abbatoir. The confused and panicked victims offered little effective resistance. Some, escaping the butchery and slaughter, retreated into the temple of Solomon only to be surrounded and massacred. The streets and squares of the holy city flowed with blood and body parts. In fact, Robert enthuses, and severed hands floated about on the gore and were joined up with other bodies; the result that no one could discover which arms should be joined with which body.15 Fulcher of Chartres evinces a similarly close interest in the details of the carnage. The Muslims trapped on the roof of the Temple of Solomon provided easy targets for the Christian archers, and he calmly estimates that 10,000 were struck down and beheaded.16 He describes the rivers of blood that stained the Christian ankles, and he compares the terrified victims to rotten apples falling from their shaken branches and to acorns tumbling from swaying oaks.17 In the accounts of both Robert and Fulcher, there is, undoubtedly, an element of exaggeration both of the crusaders' ingenious methods of slaughter and of the numbers who perished. It is known, in fact, that there were Jewish and Muslim survivors. Some of these, the Muslims particularly, fled as refugees mainly to Syria and Egypt, 18 and many of the Jews were ransomed to the Jewish community at Ascalon. …

‘Votes for women’: An analysis of the militant campaign

When one reads the literature on the militant suffragettes, one is left with the impression that the extent of their militancy was confined to smashing a few windows, slashing some works of art and, at most, setting fire to empty houses. This picture does not, however, stand up to closer examination. This article seeks to show how the militant campaign for women's suffrage in the United Kingdom embodies the characteristics of terrorism. The militant campaign involved the use or threat of use of violence, the targets selected were symbolic and the methods employed were extreme. Although the aim was to instil fear or to terrorise, one form of militancy not entertained by the suffragettes was the indiscriminate killing and injuring which has become a familiar tactic in violent protest. Even with this consideration the militant campaign can be viewed as one involving terrorism.

Ecological Impact of Arab Falconry on Houbara Bustard in Baluchistan

The love for ancient desert sport, dwindling of the population of Houbara Bustard (Chlamydotis undulata) in the traditional hunting grounds of the Gulf States, Middle East, and North Africa, and also in some accessible parts of Pakistan through hectic mechanized hunting, has attracted the now-rich Arab falconers to strike at the populations wintering in relatively inaccessible areas of Baluchistan during the last 5–10 years. The present paper is the first known attempt at analysing the multidirectional effects of falconry in that last area, and depends upon the information collected during the Author's tours of different areas of Baluchistan and through information collected from various agencies.The falconry that is now being done in the wintering grounds of the Houbara Bustard in Baluchistan is liable to have a very severe impact on the birds' population as the summering population is packed in some 1/8th of its summering grounds, thus yielding a very high density of birds. The falconry activities not only constitute a direct assault on the population of the Asian Race of Houbara, with a hunting toll of 4,955 during 1984–85 (a progressive increase from 418 during 1981–82 as reported but in reality expected to be much higher). There is also a significant effect on the population of falcons, some 300–400 being used every year, though the actual toll is probably much higher, as many are lost during trapping, training, transportation, and selling. The hunting parties are also responsible for direct and/or indirect killing of associated wildlife including hares, various deer, See-see Partridges, sandgrouses, Stone Curlew, and Cream-coloured Courser, while some 200 head of antelope were taken out of their ecosystems and sold to, or wasted in the hands of, falconry parties during the 1983–84 season.The hectic activity of the falconers in the area, and their associated men and materials, are responsible for disturbing the biological phenomena of the animal wildlife, including hormonal balance and feeding activities. The period of mating and reproduction of most of the desert animals coincides with the falconry in the area, and hence these activities result in the production of malnourished, biologically unbalanced individuals.The indiscriminate killing of Houbara and falcons may result in unbalanced ecosystem, with the massive elimination of Houbara resulting in increases in the populations of harmful organisms lying at lower trophic levels, and decreases in the populations of organisms lying at higher trophic levels. The elimination of raptorial falcons has probably resulted in increases in the populations of rodents in the northeastern part of Baluchistan and hence increased damage to agricultural crops or water channels. The falconry also has the potential of physically destroying the habitat through crushing of the slow-growing plants, denuding the camping sites through movement of men and materials, dumping of nondegradable wastes, and woodcutting for camp fires. The movement of heavy hunting vehicles sometimes causes severe damage to small earthfilled dams that are used for storing irrigation water, slowing rapid runoff, and recharging ground-water resources.

Autocytotoxic cells against normal leucocytes identified in mouse mesenteric lymphnodes

Plaques were formed in monolayers of leucocytes prepared from mesenteric lymphnodes (LN) of normal mice. The plaques were first detected after 2 h incubation, followed by a sudden increase in number at 7 h, and reached a peak between 11 and 21 h. Large cells were observed in almost all plaques under the microscope. The large cells attached surrounding leucocytes via cytoplasmic extensions, and held aggregated leucocytes on their cell surface. Aggregated leucocytes were lyzed and/or phagocytized by the large cells. Results suggest that plaque formation was due to the direct, indiscriminate killing of normal leucocytes by the large cells. The large cells increased with age. The large cells were contained in the adherent cell fraction but not the non-adherent fraction, and were removed from leucocytes by the carbonyl iron method. Thus, the large effector cells may be related to macrophages.

Identification and Characterization of a New Subset of Rat T Lymphocytes

Abstract Subpopulations of rat T lymphocytes described in this paper are defined by their susceptibility to the selective cytotoxic effects of normal guinea pig serum (GPS). These cells were present in relatively large proportions in the bone marrow and thymus and in very small percentages in the spleen and lymph nodes. Tissue distribution of GPS-sensitive lymphocytes was similar in three inbred strains and, therefore, was characteristic of the species rather than a single strain. Adherent peritoneal cells were largely insensitive to GPS. The partial cytotoxicity of GPS on rat lymphoid cells contrasted with the indiscriminate killing capacity of normal sera from humans, rabbits, and chickens, which affected over 98% of the cells regardless of organ location. Variations of the number of cells used in otherwise identical GPS-cytotoxicity assays did not significantly alter the proportion of either thymus or bone marrow cells killed. This suggests a selective sensitivity by discrete subclasses of lymphocytes present in these organs. GPS-sensitive lymphocytes occurred in rat bone marrow from birth and constituted 30 to 50% of the nucleated cells. The percentage of these cells decreased after 5 weeks of age to 15 to 30%, with most value being around 20%. Cells susceptible to GPS cytotoxicity were absent in the thymus of 35-day-old or younger rats but were readily detectable in 8-week-old animals, suggesting that GPS-reactivity defines a thymus cell surface-differentiation component. The subset of the thymus cell expressing this marker was essential for responsiveness to either PHA or Con A. Prior killing of bone marrow cells with GPS left no cells to be killed specifically by rabbit anti-rat Thy 1 IgG plus complement (C) free of nonspecific cytotoxicity. Initial killing of bone marrow cells with anti-Thy 1 and C consistently eliminated the GPS-sensitive cells. These results indicate that in the rat bone marrow, unlike in the thymus, GPS-sensitive and Thy 1-bearing lymphocytes constitute the same cell subpopulation. GPS is capable of “recognizing” and killing subpopulations of rat T lymphocytes, a property that can be used to characterize further these cells on a functional basis.

Indiscriminate Killing of Musk Oxen

Indiscriminate Killing of Musk Oxen

Indiscriminate Killing of Musk Oxen

Indiscriminate Killing of Musk Oxen