Specific Clans Research Articles

Touched and Changed: Self-Reflexivity and Reciprocity in Fieldwork

Touched and Changed: Self-Reflexivity and Reciprocity in Fieldwork

Remembering the Herero-Nama Genocide in Namibia

Remembering the Herero-Nama Genocide in Namibia

Safe Distance of Virus Quantitative Analysis and Simulation of the Trajectory of Pathogen-Containing Droplets in the Air Respiratory Airways

Droplets of mucosalivary ejecta emitted by sneezing or coughing are a major carrier of numerous types of bacterial and viral diseases. This study develops a numerical model to estimate the spread distance for inhalable droplets (1–50 μm) in the air, the inhalability of the particles, and the trajectory as well as velocity of these pathogen-containing droplets in human respiratory airways. Moreover, particularly for droplets with diameters of 1 μm, 5 μm, 10 μm, and 50 μm, specific comparisons between their inhalability and transmission velocities are made. Data extracted from previous experiments proceeded by other researchers discussing the visualization of sneeze ejecta and deposition features of inhaled drops were used to obtain parameters to fit the model prediction of this work. Currently, research on similar topics was mostly based on either experiments or theoretical calculations only on one specific clan of pathogen, while the novel contribution of this paper is the combination and comparison of these two distinct methodologies that can be applied to solve a general practical problem aiming to all types of viruses by considering the pathogen-containing droplets as a whole entity.

Trans-species and post-human oceanic futures in Witi Ihimaera’s The Whale Rider and James Nestor’s deep?

ABSTRACT In this time of the sixth extinction (Kolbert), humans from different ontologies seek notions of being human that more fully account for humans’ dependance on the natural world. Answers to questions about human- and non-human relationships may reside in much older communal narratives. Kinship – defined by Marshall Sahlins as “mutuality of being” – is explored in Witi Ihimaera’s novel, The Whale Rider and James Nestor’s memoir, Deep. Ihimaera’s novel illustrates the ancient, inextricable relationship between the Whangara and a specific clan of whales, portraying kinship maintained through trans-species communication (interlocking). Nestor’s Deep focuses on the author’s attempt to rediscover the primal and marine origin of mammalian life. This process leads to his realization that humanity’s future lies in reactivating the parts of our physiology that make us both an oceanic and terrestrial life-form. Deep allows readers a glimpse into a possible post-human future.

Genealogy as a Method to Legitimise Rulership in Some Balkan and Scandinavian Sources

This paper will focus on several sources from Scandinavia and the Balkans, and compare the types of genealogies portrayed in them – descent from gods, descent from another kind of supernatural being, descent from a legendary hero. The paper will examine the types of genealogies and the purpose they serve; how and why they were commissioned? Is there a difference in the establishment of the image of the ruler if the latter has descended from gods, legendary heroes, or a specific clan or dynasty? Does Christianity change the tradition of writing genealogies and the stories they retell? Are personal qualities enough to provide legitimate claims?

NOGAY CYCLE OF THE KAZAKH HEROIC EPIC

Epic song heritage is an important and significant part of the Kazakh folklore. Important, socially significant issues of the Kazakh epic, an integral and composite part of the global epic heritage – praising the actions of the arrow-hunter, who lives separately from the people, protection of the family, protection of the clan, tribe, El, Motherland from foreign invaders, the struggle for the unity and independence of the people, the struggle for personal happiness, protection of honor and dignity of the individual, glorifying personal qualities of the average member of society, depiction of the internal struggles, religious feelings and affections, as well as interpersonal, intra-family, intra-tribe and inter-tribe interactions, etc. The national theme of protection of the Motherland, being relevant in many periods of history of Kazakhstan, is a dominant theme of the epics with heroic orientation, which received the highest artistic expression in classical samples of the heroic epic which were rightly included into the golden Foundation of the world epic heritage; images of the heroes- defenders became an example to follow for many generations. Heroes of classical samples of the heroic epic, for example, epics "Alpamys Batyr", "Kobylandy Batyr", "Kambar Batyr", etc. protect interests of specific clans and tribes which they lead. Heroes of Nogay cycle of the heroic epic don't protect a specific clan or tribe, but the whole Nogay El. In historical epics, the batyrs defend the interests of the Kazakh khanate, fight for freedom, independence, peace and happy life of the entire Kazakh people. These epic genres give us a panoramic picture of the progressive development of the national epic from the clan-tribal to the State epic. Nogay cycle is a semantically significant part of the heroic Kazakh epic, a symbol of a certain stage of its historical development. Nogay cycle of heroic epic is created within the frame of national epic traditions, however, it is characterized by its specific parameters and features.

A Case Study of Counter Violent Extremism (CVE) Programming: Lessons from OTI’s Kenya Transition Initiative

Between 2011 and 2014 the USAID Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI)’s Kenya Transition Initiative implemented what was essentially a pilot program of the new Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) concept. Aiming to counter the drivers of ‘violent extremism’ (VE), this operated through a system of small grants funding activities such as livelihood training, cultural events, community debates on sensitive topics, counselling for post-traumatic stress disorder, and so on. This paper delivers lessons from the program, generated via an independent evaluation, offering insights of relevance to the broader CVE community of practitioners. A first overarching conclusion is that programming decisions would have benefitted from a more comprehensive understanding of VE in the local context. For instance, subsets of the population more narrowly ‘at-risk’ of being attracted to VE should have been identified and targeted (e.g. potentially teenagers, ex-convicts, members of specific clans, and so on), and a greater focus should have been placed upon comprehending the relevance of material incentives, fear, status-seeking, adventure-seeking, and other such individual-level drivers. A second conclusion is that the KTI team would have profited from additional top-level guidance from their donors, for instance, providing direction on the extent to which efforts should have been targeted at those supportive of violence versus those directly involved in its creation, the risks associated with donor branding, and contexts in which the pejorative term ‘extremism’ should have been pragmatically replaced by neutral terminology. As a priority donors and the wider community should also provide suitable definitions of the CVE concept, rather than leaving practitioners to construe (undoubtedly inconsistently) it’s meaning from the available definitions of VE.

Systematic and searchable classification of cytochrome P450 proteins encoded by fungal and oomycete genomes

BackgroundCytochrome P450 proteins (CYPs) play diverse and pivotal roles in fungal metabolism and adaptation to specific ecological niches. Fungal genomes encode extremely variable “CYPomes” ranging from one to more than 300 CYPs. Despite the rapid growth of sequenced fungal and oomycete genomes and the resulting influx of predicted CYPs, the vast majority of CYPs remain functionally uncharacterized. To facilitate the curation and functional and evolutionary studies of CYPs, we previously developed Fungal Cytochrome P450 Database (FCPD), which included CYPs from 70 fungal and oomycete species. Here we present a new version of FCPD (1.2) with more data and an improved classification scheme.ResultsThe new database contains 22,940 CYPs from 213 species divided into 2,579 clusters and 115 clans. By optimizing the clustering pipeline, we were able to uncover 36 novel clans and to assign 153 orphan CYP families to specific clans. To augment their functional annotation, CYP clusters were mapped to David Nelson’s P450 databases, which archive a total of 12,500 manually curated CYPs. Additionally, over 150 clusters were functionally classified based on sequence similarity to experimentally characterized CYPs. Comparative analysis of fungal and oomycete CYPomes revealed cases of both extreme expansion and contraction. The most dramatic expansions in fungi were observed in clans CYP58 and CYP68 (Pezizomycotina), clans CYP5150 and CYP63 (Agaricomycotina), and family CYP509 (Mucoromycotina). Although much of the extraordinary diversity of the pan-fungal CYPome can be attributed to gene duplication and adaptive divergence, our analysis also suggests a few potential horizontal gene transfer events. Updated families and clans can be accessed through the new version of the FCPD database.ConclusionsFCPD version 1.2 provides a systematic and searchable catalogue of 9,550 fungal CYP sequences (292 families) encoded by 108 fungal species and 147 CYP sequences (9 families) encoded by five oomycete species. In comparison to the first version, it offers a more comprehensive clan classification, is fully compatible with Nelson’s P450 databases, and has expanded functional categorization. These features will facilitate functional annotation and classification of CYPs encoded by newly sequenced fungal and oomycete genomes. Additionally, the classification system will aid in studying the roles of CYPs in the evolution of fungal adaptation to specific ecological niches.

Begetting extraordinary humans

We are very grateful to Verso Books for giving us the permission to publish this version of Chapter eight (Fifth component 2), The metamorphosis of kinship, Verso (2012).

Falas, objetos e corpos: autores indígenas no alto rio Negro

This article focuses on a recent phenomenon among the indigenous groups of the northwest Amazon: the publication of a series of books containing the mythology and history of various specific clans belonging to diverse indigenous groups of the region (Desana, Tukano, Tariano, etc.). The books are co-authored by the indigenous narrators themselves, generally older men, who tell the stories to a son, literate in Portuguese and responsible for translating the narrative, and generally with the assistance of an anthropologist who transforms the narrative into a written text. This initiative, supported by the regional indigenous federation (Federacao das Organizacoes Indigenas do Rio Negro - FOIRN ) and its governmental and non-governmental partners, has awakened interest on the issues and fostered debates surrounding the recognition and protection of intellectual rights of indigenous and traditional populations. On the other hand, in the local context, the use of writing and books has modernized the traditional ritual dynamic in which these texts have been orally transmitted. The article raises hypotheses on the forms of subjectification and objectification in question, taking into consideration the relationships of indigenous groups among themselves as well as with the so-called 'white' Brazilian society.

Cysteine Peptidase Expression in Trichomonas vaginalis Isolates Displaying High- and Low-Virulence Phenotypes

In the present study, we identified and characterized the cysteine peptidase (CP) profiles of Trichomonas vaginalis isolates exhibiting high- and low-virulence phenotypes using a combination of two-dimensional SDS-PAGE (2DE), tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS), and data mining. Seven of the eight CPs identified belong to Clan CA, family C1, cathepsin L-like CP, and one belongs to Clan CD, family C13, asparaginyl endopeptidase-like CP. Quantitative and qualitative differences in CP expression were detected between the isolates. BLAST analysis followed by CLUSTAL alignment of amino acid sequences of differentially expressed CPs showed identity or high homology to previously described CP cDNA clones CP1, CP3, CP4, and to a secreted CP fraction of 30 kDa involved in apoptosis of vaginal epithelial cells. One- and two-dimensional-substrate gel analyses revealed the differential CP profiles between the isolates, indicating that the combination of zymography with 2DE and MS/MS might be a powerful experimental approach to map and identify active peptidases in T. vaginalis. Toxicity exerted upon HeLa cells by high- and low-virulence isolates was 98.3% and 31%, respectively. Pretreatment of parasites with specific Clan CA papain-like CP inhibitor l-3-carboxy-2,3-trans-epoxypropionyl-leucylamido(4-guanidino)butane (E-64) drastically reduced the cytotoxic effect to 21.7% and 0.8%, respectively, suggesting that T. vaginalis papain-like CPs are the main factors involved in the cellular damage.