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‘This country is free, but for the few’: Informal labour, class politics, and urban order in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Get PDFThis article explores the relationships between regime consolidation, labour informality, and class formation in African cities. It examines how, as part of broader efforts to build political support, incumbent leaders and their parties manipulate class formation among urban informal workers.A defining feature of Africa’s rapid urbanisation is the expansion of a large tranche of low-income informal workers. We argue that, in a manner reminiscent of colonial efforts to control a then emerging urban working class, leaders adopt approaches to regulating labour informality—especially workers’ access to space and their symbolic recognition—that then influence class formation. These regulatory interventions either encourage greater unity among workers, or else help divide an incipient ‘urban mass’, introducing hierarchies between ‘respectable’ classes of small-scale ‘entrepreneurs’ and their more unruly counterparts. Having drawn these distinctions, we further theorise how and why incumbent leaders pursue one strategy or another, arguing that they regulate informal workers—and seek to influence their intra-class solidarities—in ways consistent with efforts both to consolidate a ruling coalition and to counter opposition electoral pressures.We explore this theory further through our case study—Tanzania’s commercial capital, Dar es Salaam. This involves contrasting the regulatory approaches adopted by Presidents John Pombe Magufuli (2015–2021) and Samia Suluhu Hassan (2021–), both from Tanzania’s long-time ruling party, CCM. For our empirical material, we combine focus groups, interviews, participant observation, and press reviews. Finally, while our case study involves an authoritarian regime, we use our conclusion to reflect further on commonalities and differences across regime types, democratic or authoritarian, and on the significance of class-differentiated experiences of freedom and repression in the city
Co-producing a randomized controlled trial on the frequency of bathing in eczema: description of a citizen science approach
Get PDFBackgroundEczema is a prevalent, chronic, itchy skin condition that often persists into adulthood and significantly affects the quality of life of patients and their families. With no cure available at present, effective management is crucial. Although important patient priorities related to eczema self-management have been identified, they are rarely the focus of large, high-quality randomized controlled trials (RCTs).ObjectivesTo outline the methodology of using a citizen science approach to co-produce an online RCT on the frequency of bathing, to support the self-management of eczema.MethodsThe co-production of the trial with patients living with eczema involved research prioritization, intervention development and trial design, all carried out through a series of online meetings and surveys.ResultsCo-producing the trial took 9 months, consisting of 13 online meetings (5 to prioritize the topic, 4 to develop the intervention and 4 to design the trial), requiring 39 h of time commitment from members of the public (n = 12) with a total spending of £5440 on reimbursements. A prioritization survey (n = 120) identified the most popular research question as how often to bath/shower, receiving 49% of votes. Following an iterative refinement among the co-production group members, the trial research question was formulated. The intervention development survey (n = 169) established current bathing practices and interest in participating in the trial. Survey results informed the development of study materials and influenced decisions related to trial design. The finalized study materials included key information about the target behaviour (weekly bathing or daily bathing), frequently asked questions and common concerns. The trial design co-production group determined the eligibility criteria, defined the intervention and comparator, selected the outcome measures, determined the study duration and developed the recruitment strategy. The Eczema Bathing Study opened to recruitment on 29 January 2024 and over 50% of the target sample size of 390 have been recruited within the first 2 months.ConclusionsThis paper provides a useful model for co-producing RCTs with members of the public. It describes the key stages of trial development (prioritization, intervention development, trial design) and contains information on the time and resources required to design trials using this approach
Resolving Artifacts in Voltage‐Clamp Experiments with Computational Modeling: An Application to Fast Sodium Current Recordings
Get PDFCellular electrophysiology underpins fields from basic science in neurology, cardiology, and oncology to safety critical applications for drug safety testing, risk assessment of rare mutations, and models based on cellular electrophysiology data even guide clinical interventions. Patch-clamp voltage clamp is the gold standard for measuring ionic current dynamics that explain cellular electrophysiology, but recordings can be influenced by artifacts introduced by the measurement process. A computational approach is developed, validated through electrical model cell experiments, to explain and predict intricate artifacts in voltage-clamp experiments. Applied to various cardiac fast sodium current measurements, the model resolved artifacts in the experiments by coupling observed current with simulated membrane voltage, explaining some typically observed shifts and delays in recorded currents. It is shown that averaging data for current-voltage relationships can introduce biases comparable to effect sizes reported for disease-causing mutations. The computational pipeline provides improved assessment and interpretation of voltage-clamp experiments, correcting, and enhancing understanding of ion channel behavior
Investigations of Anti‐Reflux Formulations Containing Alginates Using MRI: A Feasibility Study Using Conventional 3.0T and 0.5T Open Upright Scanning
Get PDFSodium alginates are widely used for their gelling, thickening, and stabilizing properties. Raft-producing formulations have been used widely for many years to treat the symptoms of anti-reflux disease and those suffering occasional symptoms. The aim of this study was to determine the feasibility of characterizing rafts formed from alginate-containing anti-reflux formulations invivo using either a supine high-field 3T scanner or an upright low-field 0.5T MRI scanner. Six healthy participants (one male, five female, age range 23–50 years) attended three study visits following an overnight fast and were scanned at one field strength (N = 3 at 0.5T, N = 3 at 3T) before and after ingestion of an acidic drink followed by one of three different alginate antireflux formulations. These formulations had identical quantities (by mass) of sodium alginate, calcium carbonate, and sodium bicarbonate. Raft position and volume were measured along with gastric contents and gas using T2-weighted MRI. Additionally, the image textures of the raft and T2 properties were investigated at 3T. Invitro properties (raft strength, mass, and NMR chemical analysis) of the three different formulations were also determined. Alginate rafts were generated in all volunteers for all formulations. Gastric emptying of the acidic drink was consistent across all study days. Raft volumes measured showed some differences between body positions, with upright maintaining a higher volume of raft for longer. Invitro analysis showed significant differences in strength and mass between two of the formulations, which were likely caused by differences in the chemical structure of the alginates used in the formulations. In conclusion, characterization of anti-reflux alginate raft properties can be achieved using both low-field upright and high-field supine MRI. Larger scale studies are needed to determine the differences between formulations invivo
Consensus statement on Brillouin light scattering microscopy of biological materials
Get PDFBrillouin light scattering (BLS) spectroscopy is a non-invasive, non-contact, label-free optical technique that can provide information on the mechanical properties of a material on the submicrometre scale. Over the past decade, BLS has found increasing microscopy applications in the life sciences, driven by the observed importance of mechanical properties in biological processes, the realization of more sensitive BLS spectrometers and the extension of BLS to an imaging modality. As with other spectroscopic techniques, BLS measurements detect not only signals that are characteristic of the investigated sample, but also those of the experimental apparatus, and can be substantially affected by measurement conditions. Here we report a consensus between researchers in the field. We aim to improve the comparability of BLS studies by providing reporting recommendations for the measured parameters and detailing common artefacts. Given that most BLS studies of biological matter are still at proof-of-concept stages and use different, often self-built, spectrometers, a consensus statement is particularly timely to ensure unified advancement
Stereoselective deprotonation installs an unusual Z-8,9 double bond during biosynthesis of the diterpene pheromone sobralene
Get PDFA terpene synthase from the sandfly Lutzomyia longipalpis, catalyses stereoselective removal of the pro-S proton from C8 of geranylgeranyl diphosphate to generate the characteristic (Z)-8,9 double bond seen in the diterpene pheromone sobralene. Retention of deuterium in structurally related minor products demonstrates that they are not produced via sobralene, but are made directly by the enzyme
Screening of anti-inflammatory components in composite Houttuynia mixture using comprehensive two-dimensional ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry and network pharmacology
No full textHouttuynia cordata Thunb. is a perennial herb with a distinct “fishy” flavour, commonly used in Asian cuisine and traditional medicine. To overcome the compound identification challenges in the composite formula of its mixture, a comprehensive two-dimensional ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (2D UHPLC-QTOF-MS) method was developed and identified 293 chemical compounds. Given the herb’s strong anti-inflammatory properties, network pharmacology was employed to predict potential targets, revealing TNF, AKT1, MMP9, and PTGS2 as key theoretical targets for its anti-inflammatory effects. Molecular docking showed strong binding energies between these targets and the top 10 compounds (8,13-dihydroxy-9,11-octadecadienoic acid, neobaicalein, chrysin, apigenin, genistein, chrysoeriol, norwogonin, cirsiliol, luteolin and deoxyandrographolide), with genistein exhibiting the highest affinity for AKT1 (−10.4 kcal/mol). This innovative approach, combining advanced 2D UHPLC-QTOF-MS with network pharmacology, offers great potential for screening active components in herbs and their complex mixtures
Personalized MRI-based characterization of subcortical anomalies in Ataxia-Telangiectasia using deep-learning
Get PDFBackgroundCerebellar atrophy is a known feature of ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T). However, basal ganglia dysfunction contributing to extrapyramidal movement disorders in A-T remains understudied.ObjectivesTo characterize basal ganglia abnormalities in A-T using a normative self-supervised deep autoencoder trained on MRI-based diffusion and perfusion features from healthy children.MethodsMean values of apparent diffusion coefficient and cerebral blood flow perfusion maps were extracted from seven regions-of-interest: caudate, hippocampus, pallidum, putamen, thalamus, cerebellar gray matter and cerebellar white matter. A normative deep autoencoder that reconstructs these features was trained on healthy subjects. Reconstruction errors for healthy and A-T participants were computed. We used Shapley Additive Explanations (SHAP) to identify the most influential features contributing to the features’ reconstruction predictions. Correlations between reconstruction errors and clinical scores in A-T patients were evaluated.ResultsFeatures were correctly reconstructed in controls but not A-T participants, who showed significantly higher reconstruction errors. Hippocampus, caudate and putamen diffusion, and caudate and putamen perfusion were overestimated, and cerebellar diffusion and pallidum perfusion underestimated, in participants with A-T. SHAP scores revealed that caudate, putamen, and hippocampus perfusion had the greatest influence on the reconstruction of perfusion features. In contrast, cerebellar diffusion and caudate perfusion had the greatest influence on the reconstruction of diffusion features. Exploratory analysis showed that extrapyramidal movement sub-scores from A-T participants correlated with perfusion and diffusion reconstruction errors from cerebellar and subcortical structures.ConclusionOur findings suggest that pallidum, caudate, and cerebellar gray matter are potential targets for novel treatment approaches for A-T. The approach enables identification of subtle tissue anomalies at an individual level, allowing tailored approaches
Systematic Review of Forensic Mental Health Patients on Conditional Discharge: Part One – Quantitative Findings, Methodology, Limitations and Future Research
Get PDFThis paper describes the quantitative findings of a systematic literature review of research on patients on conditional discharge from forensic mental health services in England and Wales (part one of two). Conditional discharge is a frequently used discharge option which allows forensic patients to receive care within the community, while subject to certain restrictions. In total, 23 quantitative and five mixed-methods studies were included. A synthesis of the quantitative findings identified factors associated with recall and recidivism, as well as positive outcomes for patients. Patients on conditional discharge showed lower violence and recidivism rates compared to those on absolute discharge. We develop hypothesized causal links between predictors and patient outcomes using a novel method of directed acyclic graphs (DAGs). The methods of this review, implications of findings, and directions for further research are discussed
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