Academic literature on the topic 'Alternative sub-cultures'

Globalization brings forth a geographical and thematic expansion of the scope of youth studies beyond the traditional topics of delinquency, studies of generations, and subculture. Youth has emerged as a topic for cosmopolitanism studies with a widespread tendency to use cosmopolitanism as a master narrative that leaves no conceptual room for considering ‘non-cosmopolitan’ on an equal footing. The article questions whether social research should be concerned with identifying the cosmopolitanism of youth or whether it should be concerned with examinations of the glocalization of world’s youth (sub-)cultures. In the article’s last section, I outline a research agenda that focuses upon the relationship between the world’s youth (sub-)cultures, on the one hand, and glocalization and trans-localization, on the other. Use of these concepts offers important insights into the youth's cultural practices and is an alternative to the master narrative of cosmopolitanization.

Callus cultures of Juniperus virginiana L. (varieties ‘Hetzii’, ‘Glauca’, ‘Grey Owl’) were derived from fresh leaves of garden-grown trees on Schenk and Hildebrandt medium supplemented with 3.0 mg/L of α-naphthaleneacetic acid, 0.2 mg/L of kinetin and 15 mg/L of ascorbic acid. The growth characteristics of one-year-old and two-years-old cultures were determined. The maximum biomass in all varieties was achieved on the 35th day of the cultivation period. The increase in fresh weights of two-years-old callus cultures, when compared with one-year-old callus cultures, was as follows: variety ‘Hetzii’ by 25%, variety ‘Glauca’ by 29% and variety ‘Grey Owl’ by 49%. J. virginiana suspension cultures (varieties ‘Hetzii’, ‘Glauca’, ‘Grey Owl’) were derived from two-years-old callus cultures on Schenk and Hildebrandt medium supplemented with 3.0 mg/L of α-naphthaleneacetic acid, 0.2 mg/L of kinetin and 15 mg/L of ascorbic acid. The maximum biomass of all varieties was found on the 21st day of the cultivation period. These results indicate that a sub-cultivation interval of 35 days for callus cultures and of 21 days for suspension cultures can be recommended. The callus and suspension cultures of J. virginiana of the variety ‘Glauca’ have the best survivability and thus provide the most biomass.

Callus induction, maintenance and protoplast cultures were achieved from immature seeds of a woody leguminous mangrove, Caesalpinia crista. Axenic cultures were possible during 1.5 months of pod storage in 0.1% benzalkonium chloride solution. Callus induction was achieved using 1 mL liquid medium in a 10 mL flat-bottomed culture tube. Protoplasts were isolated using Cellulase R10, Hemicellulase, and Driselase 20 in 0.6 M mannitol solution and sub-culturable calluses were obtained in 50 μL liquid medium using a 96-microplate method. The optimal hormonal concentration was 10 μM each of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid and benzyladenine in liquid Murashige and Skoog's basal medium for both callus induction and maintenance, and protoplast cultures. Similarities and differences in amino acid profiles and culture conditions are discussed among woody mangrove species and non-mangrove leguminous species. Caesalpinia crista cultures were unique as they secreted a large amount of amino acids, including proline, into the liquid culture medium.

Many medicinal plant species are currently threatened in their natural habitats because of the growing demand for phytochemicals worldwide. A sustainable alternative for the production of bioactive plant compounds are plant biofactories based on cell cultures and organs. In addition, plant extracts from biofactories have significant advantages over those obtained from plants, since they are free of contamination by microorganisms, herbicides and pesticides, and they provide more stable levels of active ingredients. In this context, we report the establishment of Satureja khuzistanica cell cultures able to produce high amounts of rosmarinic acid (RA). The production of this phytopharmaceutical was increased when the cultures were elicited with coronatine and scaled up to a benchtop bioreactor. S. khuzistanica extracts enriched in RA were found to reduce the viability of cancer cell lines, increasing the sub-G0/G1 cell population and the activity of caspase-8 in MCF-7 cells, which suggest that S. khuzistanica extracts can induce apoptosis of MCF-7 cells through activation of the extrinsic pathway. In addition, our findings indicate that other compounds in S. khuzistanica extracts may act synergistically to potentiate the anticancer activity of RA.

To investigate allelopathic activity of a leguminous mangrove plant, Derris indica, the ‘Protoplasts Co-culture Method’ for bioassay of allelopathy was developed using suspension culture. A suspension culture was induced from immature seed and sub-cultured in Murashige and Skoog's (MS) basal medium containing 10 μM each of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and 6-benzyladenine (BA). The protoplasts were isolated using the separate wells method with 2% each of Cellulase RS, Driselase 20 and Macerozyme R10 in 0.4 M mannitol solution. Protoplast cultures of D. indica revealed that high concentrations of cytokinins, BA and thidiazuron, were effective for cell divisions. The co-cultures of D. indica protoplasts with recipient lettuce protoplasts using 96 multi-well culture plates were performed in MS basal medium containing 0.4 M mannitol solution and 1 μM 2,4-D and 0.1 μM BA. The protoplast density of D. indica used in co-culturing varied from 6 × 103 - 105 / mL. Very strong inhibitory allelopathic effects of D. indica protoplasts on lettuce protoplast growth were found. A similar strong inhibitory allelopathic activity of dried young leaves on lettuce seedling growth was also observed by using the sandwich method. Rotenone, which is a component of Derris root, dissolved in DMSO, was highly inhibitory on the growth of lettuce protoplasts in culture and this could be one of the causes of the strong allelopathic activity of D. indica.

Purpose: Manuka honey is currently used in medical-grade sterile wound treatment products and has been shown to be effective in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) killing in vitro and in wound healing in a number of case studies and series. Locally produced honey in Pakistan and Chile have been proposed to be as effective as Manuka honey in bacterial killing in vitro, presenting potentially more accessible and affordable alternatives. In this study, we compared the effectiveness of a local Germania honey from Saudi Arabia to Manuka honey MGO 550 for in vitro killing of MRSA. Methodology: Overnight Muller Hinton broth cultures of 50 wound culture isolates of MRSA from 50 patients were incubated with a series of dilutions of Manuka honey MGO 550 and corresponding Germania honey dilutions for 24 h. Turbidity was assessed to determine whether bacterial growth had occurred, and no growth was confirmed by a further 24 h sub-culture on blood agar. Results/Key findings: Manuka honey MGO 550 was significantly more effective than Germania honey at MRSA killing at 100% v/v, 50% v/v and 25% v/v (p=0.025, 0.000265, and 0.000112 respectively) Conclusion: Manuka honey MGO 550 is significantly more effective in killing MRSA in vitro than Germania honey. Germania honey does not appear to be a promising locally produced alternative to Manuka honey for the development of honey-based wound dressings. Further experiments could determine if Germania honey is effective against other bacterial species.

Momordica dioica, Roxb. (Family: Cucurbitaceae) commonly called as Kartoli, is an important medicinal plant, which has remained unexplored from the commercial point of view. Considering its scarce availability and the medicinal importance, in vitro cultures were established. Traditionally, M. dioica has been propagated mainly through its tuberous roots and less commonly by seeds. Germination through seeds is very difficult or impossible because of hard seed coat. As an alternative to traditional methods tissue culture offers an efficient method for propagation of M. dioica. Mature seeds were used for the regeneration of M. dioica. The decoated seeds of M. dioica were cultured on Murashige and Skoog basal medium (MS medium) supplemented with various combinations of Auxins (á – naphthaleneacetic acid) and Cytokinins (N6 - benzyl adenine). MS basal medium supplemented with 4.44 µM and 8.88 µM N6 - benzyl adenine (BA) gave rise to maximum number of shoots in 7-8 weeks. In vitro grown shoots were sub cultured on MS medium supplemented with different concentrations of indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) for root initiation. MS medium with 0.049mM indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) showed rooting in 45 days. The regenerated plantlets were successfully hardened in vermiculite.

<p><em>The Asante kingdom is one of the famous and surviving kingdoms in sub-Saharan Africa. The kingdom came on the world stage in the late 16^th century and gradually expanded its territorial boundaries through wars to cover almost the present day Ghana and some portion of Togo and Cote d’Ivoire. Much is known about ancient Egyptian society than most other ancient cultures because of their hieroglyphics (picture writing). Even though the history of the Asante kingdom has been preserved in oratory and in written documents, an alternative method can also be made to safeguard its rich historical facts just like that of the Ancient Egyptian society. This research looks into the ancient methodology of preserving historical facts to design and produce a mural that would serve as an alternative to available sources in gathering historical facts about the Asante kingdom. Qualitative research design approach was used and the descriptive and studio based research methodologies were employed. The history of the Asante kingdom was explored from the 16^th to the 21^st century to encode the salient facts about their transformational development into a mural of symbols and pictorial imagery, using sketching and Repoussage technique. It was found that symbols and imagery can be used to present facts of the history and also intricate visuals can be Repoussage unto a large metal surface using 0.8mm copper thickness upon a suitable working support.</em></p>

Abstract Platelet (PTL) transfusions are currently the most effective treatment for patients with thrombocytopenia. Demand for PTL transfusions has steadily increased in recent years, straining a PTL supply that is already limited due to dependency on volunteer donors, short shelf life, risk of infections, and alloimmunization. This dilemma has stimulated the search for alternative approaches for generating PTLs ex vivo from different sources of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). Although PTLs have been successfully generated in cultures initiated with primary human CD34+ cells and pluripotent stem cells, the generation of a clinically relevant PTL product ex vivo faces significant obstacles due to scalability, reproducibility and shelf life. We propose an alternative approach to overcome such obstacles by developing a cryopreservable cell product consisting of megakaryocytes (MK) that can produce PTL in vivo after transfusion into patients. Umbilical cord blood units (CBU) are FDA-approved, readily available sources for allogeneic HSC for transplantation in patients with various blood disorders. Our method utilizes a previously developed two-step culture system of megakaryopoiesis from CB CD34+ cells to generate an MK culture composed of defined MK populations: CD34+/CD41+/CD42b- MK precursors (MKP), immature CD34-/CD41+/CD42b- MK (iMK) and mature CD34-/CD41+/CD42b+ MK (mMK). While robust, the yield of MKs obtained in these cultures is restricted due to limited numbers of HSCs in CB. Our group has recently demonstrated that the numbers of CB CD34+ can be significantly expanded by epigenetic reprogramming following treatment with valproic acid (VPA). Here, we report the integration and optimization of HSC expansion with MK differentiation in order to generate a clinically relevant MK cell product. We tested 20 different culture conditions in which CD34+ cells were cultured for 5 to 8 days in the absence or presence of VPA in serum-free media with various cytokines to allow for HSC expansion. The resulting HSC pool is cultured for additional 4 to 7 days in MK differentiation/maturation media. The overall yield of CD41+ MKs obtained ranged from 8 to 33 MK per input CD34+ cell expanded in the presence of cytokines alone (n=10; mean 19.8 MK) and from 9 to 34 MK per input CD34+ cell expanded in the presence of cytokines plus VPA (n=10; mean 20.7 MK). Given that up to 2x106 CD34+ cells can be isolated from one CBU, it is anticipated that a culture yielding 28 or more MK per one CD34+ cell would generate over 56x106 MK or the equivalent of 7x105 CD41+ MK/kg/body weight for infusion into an 80 kg recipient. The culture conditions resulting in a yield of 28 or more MK per one CD34+ cell input are currently optimized to further maximize the fraction of MK generated which currently varies between 15-57% of culture. The predominant sub-population of MK resulted in these conditions consists of mMKs, regardless of VPA treatment. However, in the presence of VPA, the cultures contain a greater number of assayable CFU-MKs as compared to cytokines alone. Furthermore, preliminary studies suggest that transplantation of ex vivo generated MK leads to detectable human CD41+ cells into the BM and human PTL into the PB of NSG recipient mice. These results indicate that a MK cell product derived from CB HSCs expanded by VPA comprises not only mMK and iMK capable of immediate PTL release but also MKP and HPCs which are capable of sustained MK and PTL production. Another major advantage of a transfusion product composed of nucleated MKs is the possibility of storage by cryopreservation. Due to the fragility of mMK, we tested the cryopreservation of heterogeneous and purified MK cultures. Viability of cryopreserved MK cultures post-thaw was between 68.4-70% and no changes in the MK phenotype. Studies are ongoing to test the ex vivo and in vivo functionality of the cryopreserved MKs. In summary, starting with expanded CB HSC we created a cryopreservable cell product composed of different MK sub-populations within the MK hierarchy which is being developed into a clinically relevant therapy for treatment of thrombocytopenia. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Abstract. Total dissolved inorganic carbon (CT) is one of the most frequently measured parameters in order to calculate the partial pressure of carbon dioxide in seawater. Its measurement has become increasingly important because of the rising interest in the biological effects of acidification. The coulometric- and infrared detection methods are favoured to precisely quantify CT. However, these methods were not validated for CT samples from acidification experiments investigating biological responses to manipulated partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO2), which need an extended CT measurement range (~1250–2400 μmol kg−1) compared to natural open ocean seawater samples (~1950–2200 μmol kg−1). Additionally, the requirement of total sample amounts between 0.25–1 L seawater in the coulometric- and infrared detection methods exclude their use for experiments working with smaller volumes. Precise CT analytics also become difficult with high amounts of biomass (e.g. phytoplankton cultures) or even impossible in the presence of planktonic calcifiers without sample pre-filtration. However, filtration can alter CT concentration through gas exchange. Addressing these problems, we present precise quantification of CT using a small, basic and inexpensive gas chromatograph as a highly sensitive CT-analyzer. Our technique is able to provide a measurement precision of ± 3.7 μmol kg−1 and an accuracy of ± 1.2 μmol kg−1 in a CT range typically applied in acidification experiments. It requires sample sizes of only 200 μL taken from 10 mL pre-filtered samples or from a 10 mL sub-sampled seawater reference (Dickson standard). Our method is simple, reliable and with low cumulative analytical costs. Hence, it is potentially attractive for all scientists experimentally manipulating the seawater carbonate system.

Coming Through, a novel based on factual events, explores elements of the alternative sub-culture in Australia in the period between 1959 and 1980. Dual protagonists, Anna Martin and Jack Rose, personify aspects of the movement that would later be known as 'psychedelic romanticism.' The narrative follows Jack Rose's disenchantment with the prevailing social system and his efforts to achieve personal integration and his conflict with societal pressures to conform. Likewise, in a parallel narrative, it describes the events that surround Anna Martin's early institutionalisation and her attempt to achieve personal authenticity. When the protagonists finally encounter one another they find that a common and binding philosophy has drawn them together. The thesis looks at the prevailing social notions of'normality' at the time and the problems associated with alienation and the struggle to found alternative life styles in a society they deem to be repressive.

This qualitative study uses narrative inquiry (Connelly & Clandinin, 1988, 1990, 2001) and self-study to investigate ways to further understand and facilitate the integration of holistic philosophies of education with media literacy pedagogies. As founder and director of the Youth Media Literacy Project and a self-titled Imagitator (one who agitates imagination), I have spent over 10 years teaching media literacy in various high schools, universities, and community centres across North America. This study will focus on my own personal practical knowledge (Connelly & Clandinin, 1982) as a culture jammer, educator and cancer survivor to illustrate my original vision of a ‘holistic media literacy pedagogy’. This research reflects on the emergence and impact of holistic media literacy in my personal and professional life and also draws from relevant interdisciplinary literature to challenge and synthesize current insights and theories of media literacy, holistic education and culture jamming.

Ripped, torn and cut offers a collection of original essays exploring the motivations behind – and the politics within – the multitude of fanzines that emerged in the wake of British punk from 1976. Sniffin’ Glue (1976–77), Mark Perry’s iconic punk fanzine, was but the first of many, paving the way for hundreds of home-made magazines to be cut and pasted in bedrooms across the UK. From these, glimpses into provincial cultures, teenage style wars and formative political ideas may be gleaned. An alternative history, away from the often-condescending glare of London’s media and music industry, can be formulated, drawn from such titles as Ripped & Torn, Brass Lip, City Fun, Vague, Kill Your Pet Puppy, Toxic Grafity, Hungry Beat and Hard as Nails. Here, in a pre-internet world, we see the development of networks and the dissemination of punk’s cultural impact as it fractured into myriad sub-scenes: industrial, post-punk, anarcho, Oi!, indie, goth. Ripped, torn and cut brings together academic analysis with practitioner accounts to forge a collaborative history ‘from below’. The first book of its kind, this collection reveals the contested nature of punk’s cultural politics by turning the pages of a vibrant underground press.