On fat oppression.

Contemporary Western societies are obsessed with the "obesity epidemic," dieting, and fitness. Fat people violate the Western conscience by violating a thinness norm. In virtue of violating the thinness norm, fat people suffer many varied consequences. Is their suffering morally permissible, or even obligatory? In this paper, I argue that the answer is no. I examine contemporary philosophical accounts of oppression and draw largely on the work of Sally Haslanger to generate a set of conditions sufficient for some phenomena to count as oppression, and I illustrate the account's value using the example of gender oppression. I then apply the account to fat people, examine empirical evidence, and argue that the suffering of fat people counts as oppression (and therefore, generally, discriminating against fat people in virtue of their being fat is morally wrong).

The effect of fixation and location on the stability of the markers in navigated total hip arthroplasty: a cadaver study.

In navigated total hip arthroplasty, the pelvis and the femur are tracked by means of rigid bodies fixed directly to the bones. Exact tracking throughout the procedure requires that the connection between the marker and bone remains stable in terms of translation and rotation. We carried out a cadaver study to compare the intra-operative stability of markers consisting of an anchoring screw with a rotational stabiliser and of pairs of pins and wires of different diameters connected with clamps. These devices were tested at different locations in the femur. Three human cadavers were placed supine on an operating table, with a reference marker positioned in the area of the greater trochanter. K-wires (3.2 mm), Steinman pins (3 and 4 mm), Apex pins (3 and 4 mm), and a standard screw were used as fixation devices. They were positioned medially in the proximal third of the femur, ventrally in the middle third and laterally in the distal portion. In six different positions of the leg, the spatial positions were recorded with a navigation system. Compared with the standard single screw, with the exception of the 3 mm Apex pins, the two-pin systems were associated with less movement of the marker and could be inserted less invasively. With the knee flexed to 90 degrees and the dislocated hip rotated externally until the lower leg was parallel to the table (figure-four position), all the anchoring devices showed substantial deflection of 1.5 degrees to 2.5 degrees . The most secure area for anchoring markers was the lateral aspect of the femur.

Group-specific 16S rRNA targeted probes for the detection of type I and type II methanotrophs by fluorescence in situ hybridisation.

The study of methane-oxidising bacteria (methanotrophs) is of special interest, because of their role in the natural reduction of methane emissions from many different sources. Therefore new probes were developed to detect specifically either type I (Methylococcaceae) or type II methanotrophs (Methylocystaceae). The probes have shown high specificity in fluorescence in situ hybridisations (FISH), as demonstrated by parallel hybridisation of target and reference strains as well as sequence data analysis. With these probes, methanotrophs were detected in soil and root samples from rice microcosms, demonstrating their applicability even in a complex environmental matrix.

Changes in activity and community structure of methane-oxidizing bacteria over the growth period of rice.

The activity and community structure of methanotrophs in compartmented microcosms were investigated over the growth period of rice plants. In situ methane oxidation was important only during the vegetative growth phase of the plants and later became negligible. The in situ activity was not directly correlated with methanotrophic cell counts, which increased even after the decrease in in situ activity, possibly due to the presence of both vegetative cells and resting stages. By dividing the microcosms into two soil and two root compartments it was possible to locate methanotrophic growth and activity, which was greatest in the rhizoplane of the rice plants. Molecular analysis by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) with family-specific probes revealed the presence of both families of methanotrophs in soil and root compartments over the whole season. Changes in community structure were detected only for members of the Methylococcaceae and could be associated only with changes in the genus Methylobacter and not with changes in the dominance of different genera in the family Methylococcaceae. For the family Methylocystaceae stable communities in all compartments for the whole season were observed. FISH analysis revealed evidence of in situ dominance of the Methylocystaceae in all compartments. The numbers of Methylococcaceae cells were relatively high only in the rhizoplane, demonstrating the importance of rice roots for growth and maintenance of methanotrophic diversity in the soil.

Expression of invasiveness of Campylobacter jejuni ssp. jejuni after serial intraperitoneal passages in mice.

We investigated the possibility of inducing the expression of invasiveness in 10 non-invading, laboratory-adapted Campylobacter jejuni ssp. jejuni strains, after serial intraperitoneal (i.p.) passage in mice. All the strains expressed invasive capacity after the first passage, with an increase in invasion rates and the number of internalized bacteria after each passage. These results suggest that i.p. passage enhances the expression of invasiveness in C. jejuni ssp. jejuni strains.

Frequent exposure of mice to crude Brucella abortus proteins down-regulates immune response.

Mice repeatedly immunized via the intraperitoneal route with a Brucella abortus antigen lost their ability to develop a strong in vitro lymphoproliferative response. This result correlates with a decreased tendency of the lymphoid population to produce interferon-gamma when stimulated in culture with the immunizing antigen. With respect to the humoral response, as the number of immunizations increased, the animals produced more specific immunoglobulin M and immunoglobulin G1 antibodies. It is postulated that the long-term exposure of an animal to Brucella antigen changes the nature of the immune response from a T-cell-mediated response to a humoral response favouring the establishment of the disease.

Bovine Reissner's fiber (RF) and the central canal of the spinal cord: an immunocytochemical study using a set of monoclonal antibodies against the RF-glycoproteins.

The subcommissural organ secretes N-linked complex-type glycoproteins into the cerebrospinal fluid. These glycoproteins condense to form Reissner's fiber (RF), which extends along the fourth ventricle and central canal of the spinal cord. A set of three monoclonal antibodies (Mabs 3E6, 3B1, and 2A5) has been obtained using these glycoproteins as immunogens. Competitive and sandwich enzyme-linked immunoassay methods have demonstrated that the three monoclonal antibodies are directed against different epitopes, and that there is no competition among them for their binding to glycoproteins of RF. Mab 3E6 displays immunoblotting properties that are similar to those of a polyclonal antibody against the pool of glycoproteins from RF, but that are different from those of Mabs 3B1 and 2A5. All three antibodies immunostain the bovine subcommissural organ and RF. A population of ependymal cells is stained by the polyclonal antibody, and Mabs 2A5 and 3E6, but not by Mab 3B1. The material present in a population of ependymal cells of the central canal, and the glycoproteins secreted by the subcommissural organ thus probably have partial chemical identity. Some evidence suggests that the immunoreactive ependymal cells are secretory cells. The luminal surface of the central canal is coated by a thin layer of material with immunocytochemical characteristics different from those of the ependymal cells; such a coat may correspond to material released from RF.

[Intervention of Campylobacter jejuni subsp. jejuni flagella in the adhesion to cellular cultures: bacteriological and immunological evidence]. / Intervención del flagelo de Campylobacter jejuni subsp. jejuni en la adherencia a cultivos celulares: evidencias bacteriológicas e inmunológicas.

The participation of the flagella of a virulent strain (O52) of Campylobacter jejuni subsp. jejuni in the adhesion to HEp-2 cells and their inhibition by means of homologous polyclonal antibodies, monoclonal anti-flagella antibodies and colostral natural antibodies (IgA) was studied. An aflagellated strain (T1) was used as negative control. Adhesion was observed in higher rates with O52 strain (72%) than with T1 strain (27.5%). Polyclonal, monoclonal and colostral antibodies inhibited O52 strain adhesion in more than 70% (p < 0.001). T1 strain adhesion was inhibited only by polyclonal and colostral natural antibodies. Our results suggest that the flagella of C. jejuni subsp. jejuni could participate effectively in the adhesion process. However, the inhibition of T1 strain by polyclonal and colostral antibodies suggests the existence of other binds of adhesins in the bacterial surface.

[Participation of Campylobacter jejuni flagellar epitopes in cellular adhesion]. / Participación de epitopes flagelares de Campylobacter jejuni en la adhesion celular.

Using a flagellated (052) and an aflagellated (T-1) strains we studied the participation of flagellar epitopes of C. jejuni in the adhesion to HEp-2 cells in vitro. Strain 052 was significantly more adherent than strain T-1. When adhesion assays were carried out with antiflagella monoclonal antibodies, strain 052 showed inhibition of their adhesive capacity that varied between 64.3 and 92.9%. With an ELISA test it was demonstrated that those monoclonal antibodies were specific and directed exclusively against flagellar epitopes of strain 052 being unreactive with strain T-1. Our results show that flagellar epitopes could participate in the adhesion process suggesting that flagella could be involved in the installation of the infectious process.

Neuroendocrine regulation of thymus hormones: hypothalamic dependence of "facteur thymique serique" level.

The influence of the hypothalamus extract (HE) on the blood level of the "facteur thymique serique" (FTS) was studied. Hypothalami collected from young mice were pooled, homogenated in saline, and centrifuged; finally, the supernatant injected in old or thymectomized mice with no detectable levels of FTS. In the old mice the treatment results in a reappearance of this circulating thymic hormone; in contrast, in adult thymectomized animals, the HE injection was not able to induce FTS activity. When HE donors were pretreated with thymosin fraction 3, known to contain FTS among other active peptides, the capacity of such a hypothalamus preparation to induce reappearance of FTS in old animals is greatly diminished. The data presented here suggest that the capacity of the thymus to secrete FTS depends on a hypothalamic factor, and therefore the absence of this thymic hormone in the aged reflects a failure of the thymus linked to its impaired neurologic control. On the other hand it seems evident that a feedback system operates in order to regulate the release of this hypothalamus stimulatory factor.

Mitochondrial acetoacetyl-CoA thiolase deficiency.

A patient with severe progressive neuropathy and growth retardation who showed a persistent ketosis despite normal blood glucose levels is described. A liver biopsy was analyzed for 3-oxoacyl-CoA thiolase activity. One of the mitochondrial 3-oxoacyl-CoA thiolases which in normal control liver could be activated by K+ was virtually absent in the patient's liver. An intensive search for 3-methylhydroxybutyric acid and 3-methylacetoacetic acid by gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy in the patient's urine failed to show the presence of these acids, demonstrating that the 3-methylacetoacetyl-CoA thiolase is functioning in this patient. It is therefore concluded that the persistent ketosis is due to a deficiency of the mitochondrial acetoacetyl-CoA specific thiolase.

T gamma cell levels in mammary and cervical uterine cancer patients before and after local irradiation treatment.

Total T and T gamma cell populations were studied in patients suffering from mammary of cervical uterine cancer. The results show that for both groups of patients there were no changes in the total T cell counts when compared with controls: but T gamma subpopulation values were greatly increased in the cancer patient groups, irrespective of in the mammary cancer group, whether the tumor mass was present at the moment of evaluation or surgically removed. The percentage of T mu cells returned to normal level after local irradiation treatment in all cases studied. We speculate about the possible changes in lymphocyte migration as a consequence of irradiation which may affect cells in the blood stream.