Articles de revues sur le sujet « Greek Goblets »

During studies of the cemeteries of Ulvivok-Rovantsi type, which are located in the South-Western of Volhynia region and can be dated back to X–VIII centuries BC, several very specific vase-shaped vessels were found. According to its scarcity, originality of the form and the absence of analogies among preceding, and chronologically synchronous and territorially close archaeological cultures, they can be considered as a certain “phenomenon” in the circle of sites from the final Bronze Age – beginning of the Early Iron Age in the interfluve of Prypyat, Vistula and Dnister Rivers. Similar ceramic ware is known from burials and places of worship in Crete during final part of Early Minoan period and the culture of Pannonian inlaid ceramics from the Early Bronze Age in the Middle Danube region. They could be a prototype for the ancient Greek lydions – special, rather rare ceramic ware for storing of valuable aromatic substances. The lydions were distributed mostly over the east of Aegean world, in particular on Crete, and used during marriage ceremonies and also were placed into burials. It is possible that lydions were used during worship ceremonies of Demeter – the chthonic goddess of fertility, marriage and the dead that appeared, as considered, in Crete during pre-Minoan period. Lidions, as well as kernoses (other ritual ware), were probably used for the libation during the cult ceremonies like Eleusinian mysteries. Taking into account the widespread of Demeter's worship during Bronze Age and Early Iron Age, not only in the territory of Aegean, but also far beyond its borders (it is evidenced by the finds of kernoses in Central, Eastern and Western Europe), it can be hypothesized that there were some form of this cult among population of South-Western Volhynia during Late Bronze Age, which is represented by ceramic ware, found on the cemeteries of Ulvivok-Rovantsi group, similar to the lydions, and possibly also by Ulvivok goblets. The issue of clarification of ways and directions of penetration of such cults from the Aegean and South-Eastern Balkans to Central and Eastern Europe and the level of their identity, taking into account considerable distances, diversity of cultures, ethnic groups and traditions remains subject to discussion. Later, when, perhaps, new similar discoveries will appear (preferably well-dated and located in undisturbed complexes), this hypothetical version can be confirmed or canceled. Key words: cemeteries of the Ulvivok-Rovantsi type, Crete, Minoan culture, culture of Pannonian inlaid ceramics, vase-lidion, Demeter cult, migration.

Live cell imaging methods were used to characterize goblet cells expressing a MUC5AC domain fused to enhanced green fluorescent protein that labels the granule lumen. Golgi complex and endosome/lysosome elements largely resided in the periphery of the granular mass. On the contrary, a tubular meshwork of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) was in close contact with the mucin granules. This meshwork could be identified in fixed native human bronchial goblet cells labeled with an anti-calreticulin antibody. The potential biological significance of this ER network for mucin secretion is discussed.

This paper proposes a novel approach for living and missing vine identification and vine characterization in goblet-trained vine plots using aerial images. Given the periodic structure of goblet vineyards, the RGB color coded parcel image is analyzed using proper processing techniques in order to determine the locations of living and missing vines. Vine characterization is achieved by implementing the marker-controlled watershed transform where the centers of the living vines serve as object markers. As a result, a precise mortality rate is calculated for each parcel. Moreover, all vines, even the overlapping ones, are fully recognized providing information about their size, shape, and green color intensity. The presented approach is fully automated and yields accuracy values exceeding 95% when the obtained results are assessed with ground-truth data. This unsupervised and automated approach can be applied to any type of plots presenting similar spatial patterns requiring only the image as input.

There is compelling evidence indicating that ethanol and its oxidative metabolite acetaldehyde can disrupt intestinal barrier function. Apart from the tight junctions, mucins secreted by goblet cells provide an effective barrier. Ethanol has been shown to induce goblet cell injury associated with alterations in mucin glycosylation. However, effects of its most injurious metabolite acetaldehyde remain largely unknown. This study aimed to assess short-term effects of acetaldehyde (0, 25, 50, 75, 100 μM) on functional characteristics of intestinal goblet-like cells (LS174T). Oxidative stress, mitochondrial function, ATP, and intramitochondrial calcium (Ca2+) were assessed by dichlorofluorescein, methyltetrazolium, and bioluminescence, MitoTracker green and rhod-2 double-labeling. Membrane integrity and apoptosis were evaluated by measuring lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), caspase 3/7, and cleavage of cytokeratin 18 (CK18). Expression of mucin 2 (MUC2) was determined by cell-based ELISA. Acetaldehyde significantly increased reactive oxygen species generation and decreased mitochondrial function compared with negative controls ( P < 0.05). In addition, acetaldehyde dose-dependently decreased ATP levels and induced intramitochondrial Ca2+ accumulation compared with negative controls ( P < 0.05). Furthermore, acetaldehyde induced LDH release and increased caspase3/7 activity and percentage of cells expressing cleaved CK18 and increased MUC2 protein expression compared with negative controls ( P < 0.0001). ATP depletion and LDH release could be largely prevented by the antioxidant N-acetylcysteine, suggesting a pivotal role for oxidative stress. Our data demonstrate that acetaldehyde has distinct oxidant-dependent metabolic and cytotoxic effects on LS174T cells that can lead to induction of cellular apoptosis. These effects may contribute to acetaldehyde-induced intestinal barrier dysfunction and subsequently to liver injury.

Abstract To investigate the effect of nonylphenol (NP) exposure on the colonic mucosa in rats, and the protective effects of Guizhou zinc-selenium tea (Zn-Se tea) on the damage induced by NP, sixty Sprague–Dawley rats were randomly divided into 6 groups (n = 10 in each group): control group (corn oil), and rats gavaged with NP at the doses of 0.4 mg/kg/d (Low NP group), 4 mg/kg/d (Medium NP group), 40 mg/kg/d (High NP group), and 40 mg/kg NP combined with green tea group at the doses of 0.2 g/ml (NP + GT group) and 0.2 g/ml Zn-Se tea group (NP + ZST group). NP at 40 mg/kg/d was administered to the tea groups for 3 months, followed by NP + green tea and NP + Zn-Se tea for 4 months, and the rest of the groups were gavaged for 7 months. With the increase of NP concentration, NP accumulation in colon gradually increased (P &lt; 0.05), colonic villi shortened, tight junctions between cells widened, intestinal integrity was impaired, and goblet cells, intraepithelial lymphocytes and mast cells were significantly lower in NP high-dose group than in control group (P &lt; 0.05). Meanwhile, the protein expression of Caspase-1, IL-1β and Pro-IL-1β in NP high-dose group was significantly higher than that in control group (P &lt; 0.05). Zn-Se tea increased the number of goblet cells in colon and decreased the accumulation of NP in colon (P &lt; 0.05); Zn-Se tea and common green tea decreased the expression of Caspase-1 and Pro-IL-1β protein (P &lt; 0.05). NP exposure can destroy intestinal morphology, reduce the number of intestinal immune cells, reduce intestinal immunity and increase the release of inflammatory factors; Guizhou Zn-Se tea has a certain protective effect on colon damage caused by NP.

ABSTRACT Sendai virus (SeV) is a murine respiratory virus of considerable interest as a gene therapy or vaccine vector, as it is considered nonpathogenic in humans. However, little is known about its interaction with the human respiratory tract. To address this, we developed a model of respiratory virus infection based on well-differentiated primary pediatric bronchial epithelial cells (WD-PBECs). These physiologically authentic cultures are comprised of polarized pseudostratified multilayered epithelium containing ciliated, goblet, and basal cells and intact tight junctions. To facilitate our studies, we rescued a replication-competent recombinant SeV expressing enhanced green fluorescent protein (rSeV/eGFP). rSeV/eGFP infected WD-PBECs efficiently and progressively and was restricted to ciliated and nonciliated cells, not goblet cells, on the apical surface. Considerable cytopathology was evident in the rSeV/eGFP-infected cultures postinfection. This manifested itself by ciliostasis, cell sloughing, apoptosis, and extensive degeneration of WD-PBEC cultures. Syncytia were also evident, along with significant basolateral secretion of proinflammatory chemokines, including IP-10, RANTES, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL), interleukin 6 (IL-6), and IL-8. Such deleterious responses are difficult to reconcile with a lack of pathogenesis in humans and suggest that caution may be required in exploiting replication-competent SeV as a vaccine vector. Alternatively, such robust responses might constitute appropriate normal host responses to viral infection and be a prerequisite for the induction of efficient immune responses.

The current study was investigated anatomical and histological description of gall bladder of two specious which different in nutrition and life habitat Mallard (Anas platyrhnchos) aquatic life bird, and broiler fowl (Gallus gallus) wild life bird ,used ten bird of each specious ,anatomical result founded the gall bladder is located at the visceral surface right lobe of liver at right side of abdominal cavity, and composed of three parts head, neck and body, gall bladder in both specious appeared with dark green color. Gall bladder of mallard has balloon shape more elongated organ while in Gallus gallus is pear shape, the mean weight of gall bladder in mallard (1.91±0.56 g) , length (3.07±0.505 cm) and width (3.07±0.5 cm ) while broiler fowl weight of gall bladder (8.24±2.88 g), length (3.31±0.8 cm)and width (3.56±1.32 cm ) .Histologically; Gall bladder in mallard has three main layers: tunica mucosa, tunica muscularis and tunica adventitia ,tunica mucosa which lined by simple columnar epithelium non-ciliated with goblet cells and the lamina propria-submucosa composed of loos connective tissue , tunica muscularis was a thick layer of muscles (smooth muscles) and adventitia made of loos connective tissue , while gall bladder of Gallus gallus domesticus has three layer; tunica mucosa, lamina propria -submucosa, tunica muscularis and adventitia , tunica mucosa which lined by simple columnar epithelia non- ciliated without goblet cells , with present lamina propria -submucosa fused with lamina propria ,and thin layer of tunica muscularis and adventitia made of loos connective tissue .

SUMMARYThe status of bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) and green sunfish (Lepomis cyanellus) as homologous hosts for the acanthocephalan Neoechinorhynchus cylindratus was experimentally determined. It was found that the adult parasite did not establish in bluegills, but that these fish could serve as paratenic host. In contrast, complete growth and development to the adult stage occurred in the green sunfish. When green sunfish were intubated with 10 cystacanths/fish, the parasite exhibited a clear preference for the anterior half of the intestine; when 50 cystacanths/fish were intubated, the parasites showed a preference for the posterior half of the intestine. With repeated exposure of cystacanths, the parasites were distributed throughout the intestine. The extent of histopathology induced by N. cylindratus was related to the numbers of parasites present. In light infections (10 cystacanths), the parasite penetrated deeply into the intestinal wall and connective tissue developed around the proboscis. In infections with 50 cystacanths, the proboscis penetration was shallow and little if any connective tissue accumulated. There was also an indication that in crowded areas, the parasites appeared to change their sites of attachment frequently. In both heavy and repeated infections, the parasites evoked significant goblet cell hyperplasia and substantial quantities of mucus covered the intestinal wall. It is suggested that the sticky covering and the presumed presence of antibodies in the mucus combined to create a protective barrier thereby reducing the numbers of parasites that could attach and become established.

A nutritional study was conducted to evaluate the inclusion of the green microalga Scenedesmus sp. at 5% (SCE-5) as an alternative fishmeal ingredient. This microalga was tested with four replicates during 45 days using isolipidic (18%), isoproteic (48%), and isoenergetic (1.9 MJ kg−1) diets. Fish fed Scenedesmus sp. showed similar growth and feed efficiency parameters as the control group. Regarding the digestive function, the SCE-5 diet enhanced the activity of alkaline pancreatic proteases, whereas it did not affect that of intestinal enzymes involved in nutrient absorption. No histological alterations were found in fish fed the SCE-5 diet, although a higher density of goblet cells in the anterior intestine and changes in gut microbiome diversity were found in this group, which collectively suggests positive effects of this green microalga on the intestine. Dietary Scenedesmus sp. improved the fillet’s nutritional quality in terms of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) levels, although it also increased its yellowish color. The overall results of this study showed that Scenedesmus sp. is a safe ingredient for compound feeds in rainbow trout when considering fish growth performance, animal condition, and health parameters, although it substantially affected the color of the fillet that may potentially affect consumers’ preferences.

Introduction: This is a multicenter, randomized, interventional, double masked study aimed to compare safety and efficacy of cyclosporine (0.05% versus 0.09%) in dry eye disease. Materials and methods: Random allocation of patients (n=450) was done in two groups by parallel assignment (1:1). Group1(n=225) received CAs 0.05% drops twice daily, and group 2 (n=225) received CAs 0.09% drops twice daily for 3 months. Primary outcomes were changes from baseline in Lissamine green staining score, Nelson grade on conjunctival impression cytology and tear film osmolarity. Secondary outcomes were changes in dry eye symptom score. Schirmer’s test scores, changes in corneal fluorescein staining and changes in tear film break up time. Results: Within the groups, there was a significant improvement (ANOVA, P<0.05) in tear film osmolarity, lissamine green staining score, dry eye symptom score, corneal fluorescein staining and Schirmer test scores over 3 months of intervention. However, the difference in Nelson Grade, goblet cell density, and tear film break-up time was not statistically significant. Between the groups, there was a significantly better improvement in tear film osmolarity (ANOVA, P<0.001), Lissamine green staining score (ANOVA, P=0.002), corneal fluorescein staining (ANOVA, P=0.011), dry eye symptoms (ANOVA, P=0.040) and Schirmer test scores (ANOVA, P=0.001) with CAs 0.09%. However, the improvement in Nelson grade, tear film break-up time was not significantly different between the two groups. The overall patient’s comfort was significantly better over time in patients on CAs 0.05% (ANOVA, P<0.001). Conclusion: Increasing strength of CAs better improves corneal staining, tear production, tear film osmolarity but not conjunctival morphology and tear film stability.

Several air pollution components such as sulfur dioxide, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, and diesel exhaust particulate matter (DEPM) have been linked to the development of asthma. In this study, we investigated the therapeutic potential of three lactic acid bacteria species, Lactobacillus plantarum GREEN CROSS Wellbeing (GCWB)1001, Pediococcus acidilactici GCWB1085, and Lactobacillus rhamnosus GCWB1156, in preventing DEPM-exacerbated asthma in mice. BALB/c mice were first sensitized with ovalbumin (OVA) and were either challenged with OVA or DEPM (DEPM-exacerbated asthma model) by intranasal instillation. All three strains showed no hemolytic activity, suggesting a good safety profile. Oral administration of lactic acid bacteria reduced OVA + DEPM-induced inflammatory infiltration, goblet cell hyperplasia, airway remodeling, and the levels of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF). The probiotics also attenuated OVA + DEPM-induced immunoglobulin E (IgE) levels in serum and in BALF, and significantly reduced caspase-3 activity, total collagen level, and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 activity. In conclusion, lactic acid bacteria such as L. plantarum GCWB1001, P. acidilactici GCWB1085, and L. rhamnosus treatment in mice with asthma showed significant efficacy in preventing lung inflammation exacerbated by DEPM administration.

Background: Fluoride is an inorganic element present everywhere in the environment and has cumulative toxic effects from prolonged ingestion. Green tea used since ancient times as a medical drink due to its multiple health benefits owing to its anti-oxidative and anti-apoptotic activities. Aim: To the best of our knowledge there were no studies until now concerning the possible protective role of green tea extract on the intestinal mucosal changes induced by fluoride on adult albino rats, so this work tried to investigate this role. Materials and Methods: Forty male adult albino rats randomly and equally divided into four groups, Group I: received distilled water only orally via a gastric tube. Group II: received green tea extract (GTE) 150 mg/kg dissolved in distilled water and freshly prepared for 35 days. Group III: received sodium fluoride (NaF) once daily oral dose of 10 mg/kg dissolved in distilled water for 35 days. Group IV: received NaF in the same dose as group III concomitant with GTE as the previously adjusted dose for 35 days. Body weight of all the studied groups was recorded at the start and after 35 days from the beginning of this study. After that the study tested the antioxidant and oxidant parameters in intestinal tissue as MDA, reduced GSH, and CAT, histopathological and immunohistochemical examination of intestinal tissue using PCNA marker were also included. Results: the rate of weight gain was little in NaF group compared to other groups. Concomitant administration of GTE with NaF resulted in highly significant decrease in MDA level, highly significant increase in reduced GSH level and highly significant elevation in CAT level when compared with NaF group. Many of abnormalities as moderate increase in goblet cell mass and highly expression of PCNA stain in a form of brown nuclear coloration were detected in intestinal tissues in NaF group by histopathological and immunohistochemical study that improved with administration of GTE. Conclusion: concomitant administration of GTE was improved the biochemical, histopathological and immunohistochemical alterations in intestinal mucosa that treated with NaF.

Oil palm fruit is widely used for edible oils, but the health benefits of other components are relatively unknown. We examined if consuming a polyphenol-rich extract of the fruit, from a vegetation by-product of oil processing, which also contains fibre, has gastro-intestinal benefits in rats on a Western-type diet (WD). The oil palm preparation (OPP) was added to food (OPP-F) or drinking water (OPP-D) to provide 50 mg of gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/d and compared to effects of high amylose maize starch (HAMS; 30%) in the diet or green tea extract (GT; 50 mg GAE/d) in drinking water over 4 wk. OPP treatments induced some significant effects (P < 0.05) compared to WD. OPP-D increased caecal digesta mass, caecal digesta concentrations of total SCFA, acetate and propionate (OPP-F increased caecal butyrate concentration), the numbers of mucus-producing goblet cells per colonic crypt, and caecal digesta abundance of some bacteria which may provide benefit to the host (Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, Akkermansia muciniphila and Ruminococcus gnavus). HAMS induced similar effects but with greater potency and had a broader impact on microbe populations, whereas GT had minimal impacts. These results suggest dietary OPP may benefit the large bowel.

Dry eye is one of the most common complications following laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (LASIK), with nearly all patients experiencing some degree of postoperative dry eye symptoms. Postoperative dry eye affects approximately 50% of patients at 1 week postoperatively, 40% at 1 month, and 20%-40% at 6 months postoperatively. LASIK can cause intracorneal nerve damage, goblet cell damage caused by suction, and can cause changes in the shape of the central cornea. Dry eye diagnosis can be made using a questionnaire to determine the patient's history, examination of tear break up time, staining of the eye surface using fluorescein or lissamine green, and Schirmer's test. This reserech use Literatur Review Method. Post-LASIK dry eye complaints such as irritation, red eyes, foreign body sensation, pain, gritty, and photophobia. Management of post-LASIK dry eyes can be done by giving tear supplements, anti-inflammatory agents, ointments and eye patches, and treatment of meibomian gland dysfunction. Post-LASIK dry eye usually peaks within a few months after surgery, and then improves in most patients 6-12 months after surgery. Although dry eye signs and symptoms are most common in the immediate postoperative period and are usually only temporary, a minority of individuals experience chronic and severe dry eye

Fluorescence staining characteristics of "large vacuoles," i.e. vacuoles ranging up to almost cell size, were studied in suckling rats and pigs. In the distal epithelium of the small intestine of suckling rat, yellow autofluorescence and accumulation of orally administered FITC-dextran were observed in the supranuclear vacuole. In both species the weakly basic amino dye acridine orange (AO) stained the nuclei at neutral pH bright yellow-green and the transport and digestive vacuoles bright red or orange. It is concluded that trapping and accumulation of the dye (red shift) were due to the acidity of the vacuolar interior. Assessment of the vacuolar pH in rat enterocytes is in agreement with published data on lysosomal pH values. Acidic buffers, lysosomotropic and destructive agents, or illumination with bright light induced irreversible fading of AO-stained vacuoles; the color of the porcine transport vacuoles was the most labile. This fading was used to differentiate vacuoles from other structures, e.g., vacuolar inclusion bodies and goblet cells. In suckling rat, staining characteristics of the gut epithelium changed on Days 19 and 20 of postnatal age. Detection of acidity in the distal (digestive) vacuoles supports the lysosome-like nature of their function. They appear to constitute an auxiliary, intracellular digestive system for the young animal. However, the function of acidity in the non-digestive transport vacuoles of newborn pig is unclear.

ABSTRACTPeptidoglycan recognition proteins (PGRPs) are a family of innate pattern recognition molecules that bind bacterial peptidoglycan. While the role of PGRPs inDrosophilainnate immunity has been extensively studied, how the four mammalian PGRP proteins (PGLYRP1 to PGLYRP4) contribute to host defense against bacterial pathogensin vivoremains poorly understood. PGLYRP1, PGLYRP3, and PGLYRP4 are directly bactericidalin vitro, whereas PGLYRP2 is anN-acetylmuramyl-l-alanine amidase that cleaves peptidoglycan between the sugar backbone and the peptide stem. Because PGLYRP2 cleaves muramyl peptides detected by host peptidoglycan sensors Nod1 and Nod2, we speculated that PGLYRP2 may act as a modifier of Nod1/Nod2-dependent innate immune responses. We investigated the role of PGLYRP2 inSalmonella entericaserovar Typhimurium-induced colitis, which is regulated by Nod1/Nod2 through the induction of an early Th17 response. PGLYRP2 did not contribute to expression of Th17-associated cytokines, interleukin-22 (IL-22)-dependent antimicrobial proteins, or inflammatory cytokines. However, we found thatPglyrp2-deficient mice displayed significantly enhanced inflammation in the cecum at 72 h postinfection, reflected by increased polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN) infiltration and goblet cell depletion.Pglyrp2expression was also induced in the cecum ofSalmonella-infected mice, and expression of green fluorescent protein under control of thePglyrp2promoter was increased in discrete populations of intraepithelial lymphocytes. Lastly,Nod2−/−Pglyrp2−/−mice displayed increased susceptibility to infection at 24 h postinfection compared toPglyrp2−/−mice, which correlated with increased PMN infiltration and submucosal edema. Thus, PGLYRP2 plays a protective rolein vivoin the control ofS. Typhimurium infection through a Nod1/Nod2-independent mechanism.

In this study, we examined the spatial difference of environmental regulation intensity in 30 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government) of China. It was found that there were significant differences in environmental regulation intensity in the four regions, with a decreasing trend of “west–central–northeast–east” on the whole. Applying the Theil index showed that intra-regional differences accounted for more than 85% of the overall differences in environmental regulation intensity. Goble Moran’s I index was used to verify the spatial correlation of China’s environmental regulation. It was found that the p-value of Goble Moran’s I index was less than 10% in 7 years from 2010 to 2019. It was verified that the environmental regulation intensity in China has had a spatial correlation. In addition, a positive spatial correlation between the environmental regulation intensity in each province was found, indicating that an increase in the environmental regulation intensity of one province will lead to an increase in the intensity of environmental regulation in neighboring provinces. Finally, through the construction of a spatial Markov model to test the spillover effect of environmental regulation intensity in China, it was found that the local environmental regulation intensity will change to different degrees when there are spatial differences in the intensity of environmental regulation in neighboring provinces. This research will be helpful for provincial governments to formulate appropriate environmental regulation targets based on regional characteristics, which is of great significance for China’s and other countries’ green economic development and other countries to solve the contradiction between environmental pollution and economic development.

SUMMARYCertain species of the protozoan genusBesnoitiacause clinical disease in livestock and wildlife. In the present paper a new species,Besnoitia neotomofelisis described from the southern planes woodrat (Neotoma micropus). The parasite was detected by bioassay of woodrat tissues in outbred Swiss Webster mice in an attempt to isolateToxoplasma gondii. Initially, the organism was misdiagnosed asT. gondiibecause it was highly pathogenic for mice and its tachyzoites resembledT. gondiitachyzoites. Further studies revealed that it differed structurally and biologically fromT. gondii.Tachyzoites were successfully cultivated and maintainedin vitroin bovine monocytes and African green monkey kidney cells, andin vivoin mice. Non-dividing, uninucleate tachyzoites were approximately 1×5μm in size. Longitudinally-cut bradyzoites in tissue sections measured 1·5–1·6×7·7–9·3μm. Tissue cysts were microscopic, up to 210μm long, and were infective orally to mice. Cats fed tissue cysts shed unsporulated 13×14μm sized oocysts. All mice inoculated withB. neotomofelisdied of acute besnoitiosis, irrespective of the dose, and Norwegian rats became infected but remained asymptomatic. Entero-epithelial stages (schizonts, gamonts) were found in cats fed tissue cysts. Large (up to 40×50μm) first-generation schizonts developed in the lamina propria of the small intestine of cats. A second generation of small sized (8μm) schizonts containing 4–8 merozoites was detected in enterocytes of the small intestine. Gamonts and oocysts were seen in goblet cells of the small intestinal epithelium. Tachyzoites were present in mesenteric lymph nodes of cats. Phylogenetic analysis indicated thatB. neotomofeliswas related to otherBesnoitiaspecies from rodents, rabbits, and opossums.Besnoitia neotomofelisis distinct from the 3 other species ofBesnoitia, B. wallacei, B. darlingiandB. oryctofelisithat utilize cats as a definitive host.

The Asia and Pacific Museum in Warsaw holds a significant collection of traditional Uzbek and Tajik ceramics representing the main centers of its production: Khorezm, Ferghana Valley, Bukhara and Samarkand. It was amassed by an outstanding Russian ethnologist Grigoriy Derwiz and the museum’s friend, artist and collector Andrzej Strumiłło during the years 1985–1990. The collection numbering nearly 250 objects consists mainly if decorative polychrome and enamel utensils i.e. large bowls badia, pilav plates lagan, bowls kosa and small goblets kosacha. The separate part includes earthenware toys – ocarinas khushtak in the form of fantastic animals, which were created particularly in workshops of famous masters: Hamro Rahimova from Uba in Uzbekistan and Gafur Khalilov from Ura-Tiube in Tajikistan. The dominant part, polychrome and enamel ceramics can be divided into two groups depending mainly on glaze color and style. The most numerous part of the collection is the characteristic, blue and white ceramics created since hundreds of years in famous production centers in Khorezm in central Uzbekistan and in Ferghana Valley in northeastern Uzbekistan and northern Tajikistan. Ceramics from Ferghana and Khorezm are characterized by their color based on shades of blue, turquoise and cobalt on a white background. The common feature for those products are intensive and bright colors which are obtained by a potassium enamel which also gives a specific blue shade. Objects from Khorezm have an orderly composition with symmetrical and rhythmical ornaments. These are the works of an outstanding artists: R. Matchanov from Khanki village near (Uzbekistan), S. Atajanov from Khiva (Uzbekistan) and Y. Sapayev from Kunya Urgench (Turkmenistan). The group of objects with varied ornaments and colors originates from several production centers in Ferghana Valley. They were created among others by Sohibov brothers from Chorku (Tajikistan), Y. Meliyev and B. Mavlanov from Kalibadam (Tajikistan), M. Rahimov from Gurumsay (Uzbekistan) and I. Kamilov from Rishtan (Uzbekistan). The other part of the collection is rather modest and consists of brown, green and yellowish ceramics, which has engraved decoration made of graphite originating from regions of Samarkand, Bukhara and Tashkent. That group is dominated by massive lagan plates from the workshops of Z. Muzafarow from Shahrisabz (Uzbekistan), M. Ablakulov from Urgut (Uzbekistan) and B. Khalilov from Denan (Uzbekistan).

Environmental light has an important impact on the growth, development and oxidative stress of chicks. Thus, we investigated the effects of colored lights on microbes and explored the molecular mechanism by which external color light information alters the gut microbiota and induces the cell response in vivo. We raised 96 chicks under 400–700 nm white (WL), 660 nm red (RL), 560 nm green (GL) or 480 nm blue light (BL) for 42 days. We used 16S rRNA high-throughput pyrosequencing and gas chromatography to explore the effect of different monochromatic lights on the jejunal microbiota. We used qRT-PCR, western blotting, immunohistochemistry and Elisa to determine the effect of different monochromatic lights on small intestine development and oxidative stress levels. With consistency in the upregulation of antioxidant enzyme ability and anti-inflammatory cytokine level, the 16S rRNA and gas chromatography results showed that BL significantly increased the diversity and richness of the jejunal microbiota and improved the relative abundances of Faecalibacterium, Ruminiclostridium_9 and metabolite butyrate content compared with WL, RL and GL (p < 0.05). In addition, we observed that BL increased the goblet cell numbers, PCNA cell numbers, villus-length-to-crypt-depth (V/C) ratios, ZO-1, Occludin, and Claudin-1 protein expression; decreased permeability; and enhanced the digestion and absorption capacity in the jejunum (p < 0.05). In the in vitro experiment, we found that butyrate promoted chick small intestinal epithelial cell (CIEC) proliferation and inhibited apoptosis (p < 0.05). These responses were abrogated by the Gi inhibitor, PI3K inhibitor or AKT inhibitor, but were mimicked by GPR43 agonists or the GSK-3β inhibitor (p < 0.05). Overall, these findings suggested that BL increased the relative abundance of Faecalibacterium, Ruminiclostridium_9 and butyrate production. Butyrate may act as one of the signals to mediate blue-light-induced small intestinal development and mucosal barrier integrity enhancement and promote cell proliferation via the GPR43/Gi/PI3K/AKT/p-GSK-3β/β-catenin pathway.

SUMMARY The Author separated the visualized time and the time when the painting was created. Both are rooted in the point of history which was important for the artist, in the time of creating the work of art as well as in the internal structure of the painting which is expressed through the theme and the presented figures. The researcher who was deeply influenced by history, browsed it deeply in order to find every “now”, adding it to the timeline of the artist’s life, or to the history he was a part of. The timeline, history, constitutes a basis of the knowledge about the artist’s workshop and it is the basis for the historical-comparative method. The Priest Professor Pasierb knew hermeneutics with the hermeneutic circle of Hans Gadamer and Paul Ricoeur. In his exploration of the temporal structure of his works of art he indicates to the reader the circular structure of the composition, which is typical for the scenes of the greatest masters of the Baroque, e.g. The Coronation of Mary, The Adoration of the Shepherds. The structure of time is particularly important in the portraits of Herman Han in the painting of 17th century. The analysis of the paintings of the master of Gdańsk Herman Han, especially of his painting The Coronation of the Virgin Mary in the main altar in Pelplin is an introduction for discovering the circular structures of time and space. It shows the Author’s concepts as close to the traditional Antique concepts of time: as the two opposites: Chronos – the inevitable time which consumes everything on its way and Kairos, the fugacious moment which can, however, be stopped by wisdom, beauty, the ability of predicting. The sensitivity to time, the Kairos, was expressed by the priest Professor Pasierb who was impressed by a Greek vase painted by Makron (Paris, Louvre) “long-haired boy with a hoop and with a dog, quickly running round an attic goblet, looking back where they are calling you, come back, you didn’t listen, today it is too late, twenty-five centuries passed. The painter Makron whom you passed by so quickly, managed to write kalos – Beautiful”. The basic method used for the analysis of time and space in the painting is the hermeneutic method of Paul Ricoeur and Hans Georg Gadamer.

Based on the analysis of literature sources, monitoring results and our own research, it has been established that viral enteritis occupies a leading place in the infectious pathology of dogs and causes significant damage to animal owners. Viral enteritis, most commonly caused by parvovirus, causes severe gastrointestinal disorders and is one of the most common causes of infectious diarrhea in dogs under 6 months of age. Therefore, given the relevance of this issue, the result of our study is to clarify, supplement and summarize data on the pathomorphological features of the intestinal form of parvovirus infection in dogs. Diagnostic studies to confirm parvovirus enteritis were performed using VetExpert CPV Ag or CPV/CCV Ag rapid tests, as well as by ELISA and PCR. Dissection of dead animals was performed in the conventional sequence. For pathomorphological examination, samples were taken from the gastrointestinal tract, fixed in 10 % neutral formalin solution, followed by dehydration in alcohols of increasing concentration and the procedure of organ compaction according to the generally accepted method. Histological sections 6–10 μm thick were obtained using a microtome. The article presents the results of pathological changes in dogs with parvovirus enteritis, namely macroscopically under the serous membrane of the stomach revealed striped hemorrhages, duodeno-gastric reflux, manifested by gray-green color of the mucous membrane (bile accumulation). Histological methods have shown that the blood vessels of the submucosal base of the mucous membrane are clearly dilated, filled with blood. The mucous membrane is swollen, unevenly colored in all parts of the stomach. In the muscular membrane of the stomach wall, the vast majority of cells were in a state of granular dystrophy, and in some animals, necrotic changes in smooth muscle tissue were recorded. Histochemical studies revealed the development of microscopic changes that indicated hypersecretion of mucus (acidic proteins) in the stomach of sick dogs. No specific macroscopic changes in the colon were recorded. Microscopically, a small amount of cellular detritus with mucus fragments, goblet cell hyperplasia, and a reaction of epithelial cells that were in a state of granular, less often, hydropic dystrophy were recorded on the lumen of the colon on the mucosal surface.

Abstract Bronchial premalignant lesions (PMLs) are precursors of lung squamous cell carcinoma. Prior work has shown that among proliferative subtype PMLs, progression to or persistence of a high-grade histology is associated with downregulation of an immune-related gene module. Furthermore, microRNA-149 (miR-149) was identified as a candidate negative regulator of this expression program. In this study, we aim to investigate the spatial distribution of miR-149 and its association with the immune environment and PML progression/persistence in PMLs. We identified 19 paraffin embedded bronchial biopsies transcriptionally defined as belonging to the proliferative subtype obtained from 9 subjects. Three consecutive sections were stained with H&E for histology annotation, chromogenic miRNA in situ hybridization (miRNA-ISH) for miR-149 abundance and localization, and with 30 antibodies targeted to epithelial and immune populations using imaging mass cytometry (IMC) to perform phenotyping. We trained a robust pixel classifier to detect foci of miR-149 signal in miRNA-ISH and quantified the density of miR-149 signal. For the IMC data, we used Mesmer for cell segmentation. PhenoGraph clustering based on quantification of each antibody in each cell was used for cell population identification. Ten recurrent cellular neighborhoods were identified by K-means clustering. miR-149 density was greater in the epithelium compared with stromal tissue. The miR-149 density in dysplastic epithelium normalized to miR-149 in normal epithelium is higher in the progressive/persistent PMLs than regressive PMLs. Additionally, in progressive/persistent PMLs, we find lower average epithelial staining for the miR-149 target NLRC5 associated with a cellular neighborhood that is enriched for goblet cells and PDL1+MUC5B+ secretory cells. Cell composition analysis showed that progressive/persistent PMLs have lower CD8 T cell infiltrate in both the stroma and epithelium. These results suggest that increased miR-149 expression in progressive/persistent PMLs contributes to an immune suppressive environment characterized by a shift in secretory cell populations and T cells within the bronchial epithelium. Interventions targeting miR-149 expression may be a potential interception strategy for high-grade PMLs. Citation Format: Darren J. Chiu, Roxana Pfefferkorn, Emily Green, Boting Ning, Myrtha Constant, Marc Lenburg, Eric Burks, Sarah Mazzilli, Jennifer Beane. Multiplexed immune phenotyping and miRNA-ISH in bronchial premalignant lesions reveals a mechanism of immune suppression. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference: Precision Prevention, Early Detection, and Interception of Cancer; 2022 Nov 17-19; Austin, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Can Prev Res 2023;16(1 Suppl): Abstract nr PR003.

OBJECTIVES/GOALS: Characterize formal informatics methods and approaches for enabling reproducible translational research. Education of reproducible methods to translational researchers and informaticians. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: We performed a scoping review [1] of selected informatics literature (e.g. [2,3]) from PubMed and Scopus. In addition we reviewed literature and documentation of translational research informatics projects [4–21] at the University of Utah. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: The example informatics projects we identified in our literature covered a broad spectrum of translational research. These include research recruitment, research data requisition, study design and statistical analysis, biomedical vocabularies and metadata for data integration, data provenance and quality, and uncertainty. Elements impacting reproducibility of research include (1) Research Data: its semantics, quality, metadata and provenance; and (2) Research Processes: study conduct including activities and interventions undertaken, collections of biospecimens and data, and data integration. The informatics methods and approaches we identified as enablers of reproducibility include the use of templates, management of workflows and processes, scalable methods for managing data, metadata and semantics, appropriate software architectures and containerization, convergence methods and uncertainty quantification. In addition these methods need to be open and shareable and should be quantifiable to measure their ability to achieve reproducibility. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: The ability to collect large volumes of data collection has ballooned in nearly every area of science, while the ability to capturing research processes hasn’t kept with this pace. Potential for problematic research practices and irreproducible results are concerns.Reproducibility is a core essentially of translational research. Translational research informatics provides methods and means for enabling reproducibility and FAIRness [22] in translational research. In addition there is a need for translational informatics itself to be reproducible to make research reproducible so that methods developed for one study or biomedical domain can be applied elsewhere. Such informatics research and development requires a mindset for meta-research [23].The informatics methods we identified covers the spectrum of reproducibility (computational, empirical and statistical) and across different levels of reproducibility (reviewable, replicable, confirmable, auditable, and open or complete) [24–29]. While there are existing and ongoing efforts in developing informatics methods for translational research reproducibility in Utah and elsewhere, there is a need to further develop formal informatics methods and approaches: the Informatics of Research Reproducibility.In this presentation, we summarize the studies and literature we identified and discuss our key findings and gaps in informatics methods for research reproducibility. We conclude by discussing how we are covering these topics in a translational research informatics course.1.Pham MT, Rajić A, Greig JD, Sargeant JM, Papadopoulos A, McEwen SA. A scoping review of scoping reviews: advancing the approach and enhancing the consistency. Res Synth Methods. 2014 Dec;5(4):371–85.2.McIntosh LD, Juehne A, Vitale CRH, Liu X, Alcoser R, Lukas JC, Evanoff B. Repeat: a framework to assess empirical reproducibility in biomedical research. BMC Med Res Methodol [Internet]. 2017 Sep 18 [cited 2018 Nov 30];17. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5604503/3.Denaxas S, Direk K, Gonzalez-Izquierdo A, Pikoula M, Cakiroglu A, Moore J, Hemingway H, Smeeth L. Methods for enhancing the reproducibility of biomedical research findings using electronic health records. BioData Min. 2017;10:31.4.Burnett N, Gouripeddi R, Wen J, Mo P, Madsen R, Butcher R, Sward K, Facelli JC. Harmonization of Sensor Metadata and Measurements to Support Exposomic Research. In: 2016 International Society of Exposure Science [Internet]. Research Triangle Park, NC, USA; 2017 [cited 2017 Jun 17]. Available from: http://www.intlexposurescience.org/ISES20175.Butcher R, Gouripeddi RK, Madsen R, Mo P, LaSalle B. CCTS Biomedical Informatics Core Research Data Service. In Salt Lake City; 2016.6.Cummins M, Gouripeddi R, Facelli J. A low-cost, low-barrier clinical trials registry to support effective recruitment. In Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; 2016 [cited 2018 Nov 30]. Available from: //campusguides.lib.utah.edu/UtahRR16/abstracts7.Gouripeddi R, Warner P, Madsen R, Mo P, Burnett N, Wen J, Lund A, Butcher R, Cummins MR, Facelli J, Sward K. An Infrastructure for Reproducibile Exposomic Research. In: Research Reproducibility 2016 [Internet]. Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; 2016 [cited 2018 Nov 30]. Available from: //campusguides.lib.utah.edu/UtahRR16/abstracts8.Eilbeck K, Lewis SE, Mungall CJ, Yandell M, Stein L, Durbin R, Ashburner M. The Sequence Ontology: a tool for the unification of genome annotations. Genome Biol. 2005;6:R44.9.Gouripeddi R, Cummins M, Madsen R, LaSalle B, Redd AM, Presson AP, Ye X, Facelli JC, Green T, Harper S. Streamlining study design and statistical analysis for quality improvement and research reproducibility. J Clin Transl Sci. 2017 Sep;1(S1):18–9.10.Gouripeddi R, Eilbeck K, Cummins M, Sward K, LaSalle B, Peterson K, Madsen R, Warner P, Dere W, Facelli JC. A Conceptual Architecture for Reproducible On-demand Data Integration for Complex Diseases. In: Research Reproducibility 2016 (UtahRR16) [Internet]. Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; 2016 [cited 2017 Apr 25]. Available from: https://zenodo.org/record/16806711.Gouripeddi R, Lane E, Madsen R, Butcher R, LaSalle B, Sward K, Fritz J, Facelli JC, Cummins M, Shao J, Singleton R. Towards a scalable informatics platform for enhancing accrual into clinical research studies. J Clin Transl Sci. 2017 Sep;1(S1):20–20.12.Gouripeddi R, Deka R, Reese T, Butcher R, Martin B, Talbert J, LaSalle B, Facelli J, Brixner D. Reproducibility of Electronic Health Record Research Data Requests. In Washington, DC, USA; 2018 [cited 2018 Apr 21]. Available from: https://zenodo.org/record/1226602#.WtvvyZch27013.Gouripeddi R, Mo P, Madsen R, Warner P, Butcher R, Wen J, Shao J, Burnett N, Rajan NS, LaSalle B, Facelli JC. A Framework for Metadata Management and Automated Discovery for Heterogeneous Data Integration. In: 2016 BD2K All Hands Meeting [Internet]. Bethesda, MD; November 29-30 [cited 2017 Apr 25]. Available from: https://zenodo.org/record/16788514.Groat D, Gouripeddi R, Lin YK, Dere W, Murray M, Madsen R, Gestaland P, Facelli J. Identification of High-Level Formalisms that Support Translational Research Reproducibility. In: Research Reproducibility 2018 [Internet]. Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; 2018 [cited 2018 Oct 30]. Available from: //campusguides.lib.utah.edu/UtahRR18/abstracts15.Huser V, Kahn MG, Brown JS, Gouripeddi R. Methods for examining data quality in healthcare integrated data repositories. Pac Symp Biocomput Pac Symp Biocomput. 2018;23:628–33.16.Lund A, Gouripeddi R, Burnett N, Tran L-T, Mo P, Madsen R, Cummins M, Sward K, Facelli J. Enabling Reproducible Computational Modeling: The Utah PRISMS Ecosystem. In Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; 2018 [cited 2018 Oct 30]. Available from: //campusguides.lib.utah.edu/UtahRR18/abstracts17.Pflieger LT, Mason CC, Facelli JC. Uncertainty quantification in breast cancer risk prediction models using self-reported family health history. J Clin Transl Sci. 2017 Feb;1(1):53–9.18.Shao J, Gouripeddi R, Facelli J. Improving Clinical Trial Research Reproducibility using Reproducible Informatics Methods. In Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; 2018 [cited 2018 Oct 30]. Available from: //campusguides.lib.utah.edu/UtahRR18/abstracts19.Shao J, Gouripeddi R, Facelli JC. Semantic characterization of clinical trial descriptions from ClincalTrials.gov and patient notes from MIMIC-III. J Clin Transl Sci. 2017 Sep;1(S1):12–12.20.Tiase V, Gouripeddi R, Burnett N, Butcher R, Mo P, Cummins M, Sward K. Advancing Study Metadata Models to Support an Exposomic Informatics Infrastructure. In Ottawa, Canada; 2018 [cited 2018 Oct 30]. Available from: = http://www.eiseverywhere.com/ehome/294696/638649/?&t=8c531cecd4bb0a5efc6a0045f5bec0c321.Wen J, Gouripeddi R, Facelli JC. Metadata Discovery of Heterogeneous Biomedical Datasets Using Token-Based Features. In: IT Convergence and Security 2017 [Internet]. Springer, Singapore; 2017 [cited 2017 Sep 6]. p. 60–7. (Lecture Notes in Electrical Engineering). Available from: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-10-6451-7_822.Wilkinson MD, Dumontier M, Aalbersberg IjJ, Appleton G, Axton M, Baak A, Blomberg N, Boiten J-W, da Silva Santos LB, Bourne PE, Bouwman J, Brookes AJ, Clark T, Crosas M, Dillo I, Dumon O, Edmunds S, Evelo CT, Finkers R, Gonzalez-Beltran A, Gray AJG, Groth P, Goble C, Grethe JS, Heringa J, ’t Hoen PAC, Hooft R, Kuhn T, Kok R, Kok J, Lusher SJ, Martone ME, Mons A, Packer AL, Persson B, Rocca-Serra P, Roos M, van Schaik R, Sansone S-A, Schultes E, Sengstag T, Slater T, Strawn G, Swertz MA, Thompson M, van der Lei J, van Mulligen E, Velterop J, Waagmeester A, Wittenburg P, Wolstencroft K, Zhao J, Mons B. The FAIR Guiding Principles for scientific data management and stewardship. Sci Data. 2016 Mar 15;3:160018.23.Ioannidis JPA. Meta-research: Why research on research matters. PLOS Biol. 2018 Mar 13;16(3):e2005468.24.Stodden V, Borwein J, Bailey DH. Setting the default to reproducible. Comput Sci Res SIAM News. 2013;46(5):4–6.25.Stodden V, McNutt M, Bailey DH, Deelman E, Gil Y, Hanson B, Heroux MA, Ioannidis JPA, Taufer M. Enhancing reproducibility for computational methods. Science. 2016 Dec 9;354(6317):1240–1.26.Stodden V, McNutt M, Bailey DH, Deelman E, Gil Y, Hanson B, Heroux MA, Ioannidis JPA, Taufer M. Enhancing reproducibility for computational methods. Science. 2016 Dec 9;354(6317):1240–1.27.Stodden V. Reproducible Research for Scientific Computing: Tools and Strategies for Changing the Culture. Comput Sci Eng. 2012 Jul 1;14(4):13–7.28.Baker M. Muddled meanings hamper efforts to fix reproducibility crisis. Nat News Available from: http://www.nature.com/news/muddled-meanings-hamper-efforts-to-fix-reproducibility-crisis-1.2007629.Barba LA. Terminologies for Reproducible Research. ArXiv180203311 Cs 2018 Feb 9; Available from: http://arxiv.org/abs/1802.03311

Background and Aim: Keratoconjunctivitis sicca (KCS) is predominantly an immune-mediated chronic inflammatory ocular disease that is commonly diagnosed in dogs. This study aimed to compare the conventional use of topical immunosuppressant tacrolimus 0.03% eye drops and a new therapy injectable homologous platelet-rich plasma (HPRP) into the third eyelid gland and inferior and superior palpebral conjunctiva of dogs with KCS. Materials and Methods: A total of 66 eyes from 33 dogs were evaluated. The eyes were divided into three equal groups: Negative control group, tacrolimus group (TG), and homologous platelet-rich plasma group (HPRPG). The animals were evaluated using the Schirmer's tear test-1 (STT-1), osmolarity test (OT), strip meniscometry test (SMT), tear film break-up test (TBUT), fluorescein test, lissamine green test (LGT), and cytological and histopathological analyses. Results: In TG, there was a significant increase (p < 0.05) in the STT-1 and SMT values, and goblet cell count in the palpebral conjunctiva by the end of the study. In HPRPG, 36% (four dogs) received three applications, 55% (six dogs) received two applications, and 9% (one dog) received one application before the initial ocular signs improved. There was a significant decrease (p < 0.05) in the lymphocyte and neutrophil counts of the palpebral conjunctiva in HPRPG than in TG. Both groups showed equivalent improvements in TBUT, OT, and LGT values. Conclusion: Tacrolimus 0.03% eye drops were more efficient than HPRP in increasing tear production and the number of goblet cells. However, injectable HPRP was more efficient than tacrolimus in decreasing the number of conjunctival inflammatory cells. Treatment with injectable HPRP requires an average of two to three applications, is safe and feasible, and can be used as a cheaper alternative or as an adjuvant to conventional treatment with topical immunosuppressants.

Abstract Background Feed supplements, including essential trace elements are believed to play an important role in augmenting fish immune response. In this context, selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) in fish diets via a green biosynthesis strategy have attracted considerable interest. In this investigation, selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs, 79.26 nm) synthesized from the green microalga Pediastrum boryanum were incorporated into Nile tilapia diets to explore its beneficial effects on the immune defense and intestinal integrity, in comparison with control basal diets containing inorganic Se source. Nile tilapia (No. 180, 54–57 g) were fed on three formulated diets at concentrations of 0, 0.75, and 1.5 mg/kg of SeNPs for 8 weeks. After the trial completion, tissue bioaccumulation, biochemical indices, antioxidant and pro-inflammatory cytokine-related genes, and intestinal histological examination were analyzed. Results Our finding revealed that dietary SeNPs significantly decreased (P < 0.05) serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and cholesterol, while increasing (P < 0.05) high-density lipoproteins (HDL). The Se concentration in the muscle tissues showed a dose-dependent increase. SeNPs at a dose of 1.5 mg/kg significantly upregulated intestinal interleukin 8 (IL-8) and interleukin 1 beta (IL-1β) gene transcription compared with the control diet. Glutathione reductase (GSR) and glutathione synthetase (GSS) genes were significantly upregulated in both SeNPs-supplemented groups compared with the control. No apoptotic changes or cell damages were observed as indicated by proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and caspase-3 gene expression and evidenced histopathologically. SeNPs supplementation positively affects mucin-producing goblet cells (GCs), particularly at dose of 1.5 mg/kg. Conclusion Therefore, these results suggest that Green synthesized SeNPs supplementation has promising effects on enhancing Nile tilapia immunity and maintaining their intestinal health.

AbstractThis study introduces a collection of 33 glass samples, encompassing production indicators (blocks, fluidity tests, drops, cuts and wastes) and finished products (mainly goblets and probably a lamp) dating to the second half of the 7th century, except for a single more recent specimen (12th-14th). Additionally, a fragment was taken from a crucible bearing a thin layer of glass inside it. This new collection complements the investigation of glass materials from the Comacchio workshop previously analysed by Bertini et al. (2020).Measurements were performed using scanning electron microscopy, electron microprobe, laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy on all samples and Sr–Nd isotopic analyses on 5 blocks.The results showed how the entire collection can be classified as natron-based silica-soda-lime glass and that the high MgO contents frequently observed are due to contamination with the steatite crucible. Contextually, the hypothesis of using plant ash-based glass mixed with natron-based glass formulated in the previous literature seems to have run out, along with the use of plant ash-based glass itself, further weakened by the very low representativeness of this latter type of glass on the site.The technological investigation further elucidated that recycling may not singularly account for the Comacchio glass technology. Discernible correlations may suggest the introduction of different types of metals, indicating a specialised control over the production process. Notably, the preference for green–blue glass emerges as a distinctive hallmark, underscoring the deliberate pursuit of a specific aesthetic taste.Lastly, the provenance analysis showed that over three-quarters of production was based on semi-finished products from Egypt, while only the remaining quarter came from the Levantine coast.

Emerging data demonstrated that the gut microbiota plays an important role in protecting the integrity of the epithelial barrier, forming a mucosal immune system, and maintaining intestinal homeostasis through its metabolites. However, the intestinal microbiota community can be affected by environmental factors, such as litter, photoperiod, or temperature. Thus, we investigated the effect of different monochromatic light combinations on cecal microbiota composition as well as explored the molecular mechanism by how the external light color information mediate cecal tonsil T lymphocyte proliferation. In this study, a total of 160 chicks were exposed to monochromatic light [red (R), green (G), blue (B), or white (W) light] or green and blue monochromatic light combination (G→B) from P0 to P42. The 16S rRNA microbial sequencing results showed that the richness and diversity of the cecum microbiota and the abundance of Faecalibacterium and Butyricicoccus were significantly increased in the G→B. With consistency in the upregulation of antioxidant enzyme ability and downregulation of pro-inflammation levels in the cecum, we observed an increase in the number of goblet cells, secretory IgA+ cells, tight junction protein (occludin, ZO-1, and claudin-1) and MUC-2 expression in the cecum of the G→B. The metabolomics analysis revealed that the relative abundance of metabolites related to butyrate was significantly increased in G→B. In an in vitro experiment, we found that butyrate could effectively induce T lymphocyte proliferation and cyclin D1 protein expression. However, these butyrate responses were abrogated by HDAC3 agonists, STAT3 antagonists, or mTOR antagonists but were mimicked by GPR43 agonists or HDAC3 antagonists. Thus, we suggested that G→B can indirectly affect the composition of cecal microbiota as well as increase the relative abundance of Faecalibacterium and Butyricicoccus and butyrate production by reducing the level of oxidative stress in the cecum. Exogenous butyrate could promote the T lymphocyte proliferation of cecal tonsil by activating the GPR43/HDAC3/p-STAT3/mTOR pathways.

Abstract Background Trace elements play a crucial role in fish nutrition, with zinc (Zn) being one of the most important elements. BIO-sourced zinc nanoparticles were synthesized using the green microalga Pediastrum boryanum (BIO-ZnNPs, 29.35 nm). 30 or 60 mg/ kg dry feed of the BIO-ZnNPs (BIO-ZnNPs30 and BIO-ZnNPs60) were mixed with the Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) basal diet and fed to the fish for 8 weeks to evaluate their impact on fish growth, digestion, intestinal integrity, antioxidative status, and immunity. Results A significant enhancement was observed in all investigated parameters, except for the serum protein profile. BIO-ZnNPs at 60 mg/kg feed elevated the activities of reduced glutathione (GSH) and catalase (CAT), enzymatic antioxidants, but did not induce oxidative stress as reflected by no change in MDA level. Fish intestinal immunity was improved in a dose-dependent manner, in terms of improved morphometry and a higher count of acid mucin-producing goblet cells. Interleukin-8 (IL-8) was upregulated in BIO-ZnNPs30 compared to BIO-ZnNPs60 and control fish groups, while no significant expressions were noted in tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFα), nuclear factor kappa B (NFkB), and Caspase3 genes. Conclusion Overall, BIO-ZnNPs inclusion at 60 mg/kg feed showed the most advantage in different scenarios, compared to BIO-ZnNPs at 30 mg/kg feed. The positive effects on growth and intestinal health suggest that BIO-ZnNPs supplementation of aquafeeds has many benefits for farmed fish.

Abstract Background Vitamin D3 is important for normal function of the intestinal epithelial cells (IECs). In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of vitamin D3 on the differentiation, stemness, and viability of healthy IECs in intestinal organoids. Methods Intestinal organoids derived from mouse small intestine were treated with vitamin D3, and the effects on intestinal stemness and differentiation were evaluated using real-time PCR and immunofluorescence staining of the distinct lineage markers. Cell viability was analyzed using viability and apoptosis assays. Results Vitamin D3 enhanced IEC differentiation into the distinct lineages of specialized IECs, including Paneth, goblet, and enteroendocrine cells and absorptive enterocytes. Decreased expression levels of leucine-rich repeat-containing G-protein-coupled receptor 5 (LGR5) and the presence of several LGR5-green fluorescent protein (GFP)-positive cells were observed in vitamin D3-treated organoids derived from LGR5-GFP mice. The formation of the crypt-villus structure was also inhibited by vitamin D3, suggesting that vitamin D3 suppresses intestinal cell stemness. Furthermore, the expression levels of unfolded protein response genes, C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP), and activating transcription factor 6 (ATF6) were upregulated in vitamin D3-treated organoids. Moreover, vitamin D3 promoted apoptotic cell death in intestinal cells, which may be associated with the decrease in intestinal stemness. LGR5 gene expression, ISC number, and apoptotic cell death were partially recovered in the presence of the ER stress inhibitor tauroursodeoxycholic acid (TUDCA), suggesting that intestinal stemness suppression and intestinal apoptosis occurred via ER stress activation. Conclusions Our study provides important insights into the effects of vitamin D3 on the induction of IEC differentiation and apoptotic cell death, and inhibition of intestinal stemness accompanied by ER stress augmentation.

The present trial examined the effects of diet supplementation with an extract including Greek oregano, garlic, rock samphire, and camelina, administered either in aqueous form or encapsulated in cyclodextrin, on broiler chickens. The duration of the trial was 35 days. Mixed broiler chicks (Ross-308, 120 individuals, 1 day old) were randomly allocated to one of three groups, each with four replicates. Control group A (CONTROL) was fed a basal diet consisting of maize and soybean. The diet of the AQORGCC and CDORGCC groups was further supplemented with aqueous and cyclodextrin-encapsulated herbal extracts, respectively. Levels of lipid and protein oxidation were determined in breast and thigh meat samples. Furthermore, to address cellular stress and signaling responses, the expression patterns of heat shock proteins (Hsp60, Hsp70, and Hsp90), mitogen-activated protein kinases (P38 and P44/42 MAPKs), and apoptotic-related proteins (Bcl-2/Bad ratio) were investigated in breast and thigh tissues using Western blot analysis. The intestinal morphometry of the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum was also assessed. To investigate ileal and cecal bacterial community diversity, 16S rRNA gene high-throughput amplicon sequencing on the V3–V4 hypervariable region was performed. The results showed that the herbal extract in cyclodextrin delayed meat lipid oxidation. According to the protein expression patterns, the formulated diets elicited tissue-specific cellular responses. Compared with the CONTROL group, dietary supplementation with the encapsulated form resulted in significant Hsp induction and MAPK activation, whereas, in the group whose diet was supplemented with the aqueous form, the expression of most of the examined proteins decreased or was maintained at a constant level. Villus height and lamina propria width were mostly affected by the aqueous herbal extract, whereas the number of goblet cells remained unchanged among the groups. Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, and Bacteroidota were the major phyla in mean relative abundance in all diets in both cecal and ileal samples. Alpha-diversity indices highlighted higher species richness and diversity in the cecum than in the ileum, as well as in chicks treated with the aqueous extract of the herbal mixture, but only in the cecum. Cecal beta-diversity differed between the cyclodextrin and the CONTROL groups, while ileal beta-diversity varied only between the aqueous-treated group and the CONTROL group. In conclusion, the dietary mixtures of herbal extracts (particularly those encapsulated in cyclodextrin) improved protein and lipid oxidation and increased the number of beneficial lactic acid-producing bacteria in the cecum, whereas the aqueous herbal extract mostly affected bacterial activity in the proximal part of the chicken intestine. Similarly, intestinal morphometry in the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum was mostly affected by the aqueous herbal extract, which seems to inhibit proteins associated with stress signaling in meat.

Internet of Things (IoT) applications are increasingly making impact in all areas of humanlife. Day by day, its chatty embedded devices have been generating tons of data requiring effectivenetwork infrastructure. To deliver millions of IoT messages back and fort with as few faults aspossible, participation of communication protocols like MQTT is a must. Lightweight blueprintand friendly battery are just two of many advantages of this protocol making it become a dominantin IoT world. In real application scenarios, distributed MQTT solutions are usually required sincecentralized MQTT approach is incapable of dealing with huge amount of data. Although distributedMQTT solutions are scalable, they do not adapt to fluctuations of traffic workload. This might costIoT service provider because of redundant computation resources. This leads to the need of a novelapproach that can adapt its size changes in workload. This article proposes such an elastic solutionby proposing a flexible MQTT framework. Our MQTT framework uses off-the-shelf componentsto obtain server’s elasticity while keeping IoT applications intact. Experiments are conducted tovalidate elasticity function provided by an implementation of our framework. Keywords MQTT broker, Elasticity, Internet of Things, Cloud computing References [1] Sharma, D. Panwar, Green IoT: Advancements and Sustainability with Environment by 2050. In: 8th International Conference on Reliability, Infocom Technologies and Optimization (Trends and Future Directions) (ICRITO), Noida, India, 2020, pp. 1127-1132. [2] Turner, D. Reinsel, J.F. Gantz, S. Minton, The Digital Universe of Opportunities: Rich Data and the Increasing Value of the Internet of Things, IDC Report Apr, 2014. [3] MQ Telemetry Transport. http://mqtt.org/, 2020 (30 October 2020). [4] Mell, T. Grance, The NIST definition of cloud computing (draft), NIST special publication 800-145 (2011) 1-3. [5] T. Eugster, P.A. Felber, R. Guerraoui, A. Kermarrec, The many faces of publish/subscribe, ACM Comput, Surv. 35(2) (2003) 114-131. [6] Kawaguchi, M. Bandai, Edge Based MQTT Broker Architecture for Geographical IoT Applications, 2020 International Conference on Information Networking (ICOIN), Barcelona, Spain, 2020, pp. 232-235. [7] Gupta, S. Khera, N. Turk, MQTT protocol employing IOT based home safety system with ABE encryption, Multimed Tools Appl, 2020. [8] Mukambikeshwari, Poojary, Smart Watering System Using MQTT Protocol in IoT, Advances in Artificial Intelligence and Data Engineering. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, Springer, Singapore 1133 (2020) số trang đầu-cuối. [9] C. See, E.X. Ho, IoT-Based Fire Safety System Using MQTT Communication Protocol, International Journal of Integrated Engineering. 12(6) (2020) 207-215. [10] Nazir, M. Kaleem, Reliable Image Notifications for Smart Home Security with MQTT, International Conference on Information Science and Communication Technology (ICISCT), Karachi, Pakistan, 2019, pp. 1-5. [11] Alqinsi, I.J.M. Edward, N. Ismail, W. Darmalaksana, IoT-Based UPS Monitoring System Using MQTT Protocols, 4th International Conference on Wireless and Telematics (ICWT), Nusa Dua, 2018, pp. 1-5. [12] Comparison of MQTT Brokers, https://tewarid.github.io/2019/03/21/comparison-of-mqtt-brokers.html”/, 2020 (30 October 2020). [13] Collina, G.E. Corazza, A. Vanelli-Coralli, Introducing the QEST broker: Scaling the IoT by bridging MQTT and REST, 2012 IEEE 23rd International Symposium on Personal, Indoor and Mobile Radio Communications - (PIMRC), Sydney, NSW, 2012, pp. 36-41. [14] Schmitt, F. Carlier, V. Renault, Data Exchange with the MQTT Protocol: Dynamic Bridge Approach, 2019 IEEE 89th Vehicular Technology Conference (VTC2019-Spring), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2019, pp. 1-5. [15] M.V. Zambrano, M.V. Zambrano, E.L.O. Mej´ıa, X.H. Calderon´, SIGPRO: A Real-Time Progressive Notification System Using MQTT Bridges and Topic Hierarchy for Rapid Location of Missing Persons, in IEEE Access. 8 (2020) 149190-149198. [16] The features that various MQTT servers (brokers) support. https://github.com/mqtt/mqtt.github.io/wiki/server-support”/, 2020 (30 October 2020). [17] Jutadhamakorn, T. Pillavas, V. Visoottiviseth, R. Takano, J. Haga, D. Kobayashi, A scalable and low-cost MQTT broker clustering system, 2017 2nd International Conference on Information Technology (INCIT), Nakhonpathom, 2017, pp. 1-5. [18] Y. Thean, V. Voon Yap, P.C. Teh, Container-based MQTT Broker Cluster for Edge Computing, 2019 4th International Conference and Workshops on Recent Advances and Innovations in Engineering (ICRAIE), Kedah, Malaysia, 2019, pp. 1-6. [19] Detti, L. Funari, N. Blefari-Melazzi, Sub-Linear Scalability of MQTT Clusters in Topic-Based Publish-Subscribe Applications, in IEEE Transactions on Network and Service Management 17(3) (2020) 1954-1968. [20] R. Righi, E, Correa, M.M. Gomes, C.A. Costa, Enhancing performance of IoT applications with load prediction and cloud elasticity, Future Generation Computer Systems 109 (2020) 689-701. [21] H. Fourati, S. Marzouk, K. Drira, M. Jmaiel, DOCKERANALYZER: Towards Fine Grained Resource Elasticity for Microservices-Based Applications Deployed with Docker, 20th International Conference on Parallel and Distributed Computing, Applications and Technologies (PDCAT), Gold Coast, Australia, 2019, pp. 220-225. [22] Nardelli, V. Cardellini, E. Casalicchio, Multi-Level Elastic Deployment of Containerized Applications in Geo-Distributed Environments, 2018 IEEE 6th International Conference on Future Internet of Things and Cloud (FiCloud), Barcelona, 2018, pp. 1-8. [23] M. Pham, A Big Data Analytics Framework for IoT Applications in the Cloud, VNU Journal of Science: Computer Science and Communication Engineering 31(2) (2015) 44-55. [24] F. Rodrigues, I.G. Wendt, R.R. Righi, C.A. Costa, J.L.V. Barbosa, A.M. Alberti, Brokel: Towards enabling multi-level cloud elasticity on publish/subscribe brokers, International Journal of Distributed Sensor Networks 13(8) (2017) 1-20. [25] Vavassori, J. Soriano, R. Fernandez, Enabling Large-Scale IoT-Based Services through Elastic Publish/Subscribe, Sensors, 2017. [26] A distributed, reliable key-value store. https://etcd.io/docs/v3.4.0/, 2020 (30 October 2020). [27] Roure, C. Goble, Software Design for Empowering Scientists, IEEE Software 26(1) (2009) 88-95. [28] EMQX Broker. https://docs.emqx.io/broker/latest/en/, 2020 (30 October 2020). [29] Kubernetes. https://kubernetes.io/, 2020 (30 October 2020). [30] HAProxy. https://www.haproxy.com/solutions/load-balancing/, 2020 (30 October 2020). [31] OpenStack: Open Source Cloud Computing Infrastructure. https://www.openstack.org/, 2020 (30 October 2020). [32] OpenStack Heat. https://docs.openstack.org/heat/latest/, 2020 (30 October 2020). [33] OpenStack Ceilometer. https://docs.openstack.org/ceilometer/latest/, 2020 (30 October 2020). [34] OpenStack Aodh. https://docs.openstack.org/aodh/latest/, 2020 (30 October 2020). [35] Gnocchi - Metric as a Service. https://gnocchi.xyz/, 2020 (30 October 2020). [36] RabbitMQ. https://www.rabbitmq.com/, 2020 (30 October 2020). [37] Apache Jmeter. https://jmeter.apache.org/, 2020 (30 October 2020). [38] M. Pham, T.T. Nguyen, M.D. Tran, A Benchmarking Tool for Elastic MQTT Brokers in IoT Applications, International Journal of Information and Communication Sciences 4(4) (2019) 59-67.

The Harry Potter (HP) Fan Fiction (FF) phenomenon offers an opportunity to explore the nature of fame and the work of fans (including the second author, a participant observer) in creating and circulating cultural products within fan communities. Matt Hills comments (xi) that “fandom is not simply a ‘thing’ that can be picked over analytically. It is also always performative; by which I mean that it is an identity which is (dis-)claimed, and which performs cultural work”. This paper explores the cultural work of fandom in relation to FF and fame. The global HP phenomenon – in which FF lists are a small part – has made creator J K Rowling richer than the Queen of England, according to the 2003 ‘Sunday Times Rich List’. The books (five so far) and the films (three) continue to accelerate the growth in Rowling’s fortune, which quadrupled from 2001-3: an incredible success for an author unknown before the publication of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in 1997. Even the on-screen HP lead actor, Daniel Radcliffe, is now Britain’s second wealthiest teenager (after England’s Prince Harry). There are other globally successful books, such as the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and the Narnia collection, but neither of these series has experienced the momentum of the HP rise to fame. (See Endnote for an indication of the scale of fan involvement with HP FF, compared with Lord of the Rings.) Contemporary ‘Fame’ has been critically defined in relation to the western mass media’s requirement for ‘entertaining’ content, and the production and circulation of celebrity as opposed to ‘hard news’(Turner, Bonner and Marshall). The current perception is that an army of publicists and spin doctors are usually necessary, but not sufficient, to create and nurture global fame. Yet the HP phenomenon started out with no greater publicity investment than that garnered by any other promising first novelist: and given the status of HP as children’s publishing, it was probably less hyped than equivalent adult-audience publications. So are there particular characteristics of HP and his creator that predisposed the series and its author to become famous? And how does the fame status relate to fans’ incorporation of these cultural materials into their lives? Accepting that it is no more possible to predict the future fame of an author or (fictional) character than it is to predict the future financial success of a book, film or album, there is a range of features of the HP phenomenon that, in hindsight, helped accelerate the fame momentum, creating what has become in hindsight an unparalleled global media property. J K Rowling’s personal story – in the hands of her publicity machine – itself constituted a magical myth: the struggling single mother writing away (in longhand) in a Scottish café, snatching odd moments to construct the first book while her infant daughter slept. (Comparatively little attention was paid by the marketers to the author’s professional training and status as a teacher, or to Rowling’s own admission that the first book, and the outline for the series, took five years to write.) Rowling’s name itself, with no self-evident gender attribution, was also indicative of ambiguity and mystery. The back-story to HP, therefore, became one of a quintessentially romantic endeavour – the struggle to write against the odds. Publicity relating to the ‘starving in a garret’ background is not sufficient to explain the HP/Rowling grip on the popular imagination, however. Instead it is arguable that the growth of HP fame and fandom is directly related to the growth of the Internet and to the middle class readers’ Internet access. If the production of celebrity is a major project of the conventional mass media, the HP phenomenon is a harbinger of the hyper-fame that can be generated through the combined efforts of the mass media and online fan communities. The implication of this – evident in new online viral marketing techniques (Kirby), is that publicists need to pique cyber-interest as well as work with the mass media in the construction of celebrity. As the cheer-leaders for online viral marketing make the argument, the technique “provides the missing link between the [bottom-up] word-of-mouth approach and the top-down, advertainment approach”. Which is not to say that the initial HP success was a function of online viral marketing: rather, the marketers learned their trade by analysing the magnifier impact that the online fan communities had upon the exponential growth of the HP phenomenon. This cyber-impact is based both on enhanced connectivity – the bottom-up, word-of-mouth dynamic, and on the individual’s need to assume an identity (albeit fluid) to participate effectively in online community. Critiquing the notion that the computer is an identity machine, Streeter focuses upon (649) “identities that people have brought to computers from the culture at large”. He does not deal in any depth with FF, but suggests (651) that “what the Internet is and will come to be, then, is partly a matter of who we expect to be when we sit down to use it”. What happens when fans sit down to use the Internet, and is there a particular reason why the Internet should be of importance to the rise and rise of HP fame? From the point of view of one of us, HP was born at more or less the same time as she was. Eleven years old in the first book, published in 1997, Potter’s putative birth year might be set in 1986 – in line with many of the original HP readership, and the publisher’s target market. At the point that this cohort was first spellbound by Potter, 1998-9, they were also on the brink of discovering the Internet. In Australia and many western nations, over half of (two-parent) families with school-aged children were online by the end of 2000 (ABS). Potter would notionally have been 14: his fans a little younger but well primed for the ‘teeny-bopper’ years. Arguably, the only thing more famous than HP for that age-group, at that time, was the Internet itself. As knowledge of the Internet grew stories about it constituted both news and entertainment and circulated widely in the mass media: the uncertainty concerning new media, and their impact upon existing social structures, has – over time – precipitated a succession of moral panics … Established commercial media are not noted for their generosity to competitors, and it is unsurprising that many of the moral panics circulating about pornography on the Net, Internet stalking, Web addiction, hate sites etc are promulgated in the older media. (Green xxvii) Although the mass media may have successfully scared the impressionable, the Internet was not solely constructed as a site of moral panic. Prior to the general pervasiveness of the Internet in domestic space, P. David Marshall discusses multiple constructions of the computer – seen by parents as an educational tool which could help future-proof their children; but which their children were more like to conceptualise as a games machine, or (this was the greater fear) use for hacking. As the computer was to become a site for the battle ground between education, entertainment and power, so too the Internet was poised to be colonised by teenagers for a variety of purposes their parents would have preferred to prevent: chat, pornography, game-playing (among others). Fan communities thrive on the power of the individual fan to project themselves and their fan identity as part of an ongoing conversation. Further, in constructing the reasons behind what has happened in the HP narrative, and in speculating what is to come, fans are presenting themselves as identities with whom others might agree (positive affirmation) or disagree (offering the chance for engagement through exchange). The genuinely insightful fans, who apparently predict the plots before they’re published, may even be credited in their communities with inspiring J K Rowling’s muse. (The FF mythology is that J K Rowling dare not look at the FF sites in case she finds herself influenced.) Nancy Baym, commenting on a soap opera fan Usenet group (Usenet was an early 1990s precursor to discussion groups) notes that: The viewers’ relationship with characters, the viewers’ understanding of socioemotional experience, and soap opera’s narrative structure, in which moments of maximal suspense are always followed by temporal gaps, work together to ensure that fans will use the gaps during and between shows to discuss with one another possible outcomes and possible interpretations of what has been seen. (143) In HP terms the The Philosopher’s Stone constructed a fan knowledge that J K Rowling’s project entailed at least seven books (one for each year at Hogwarts School) and this offered plentiful opportunities to speculate upon the future direction and evolution of the HP characters. With each speculation, each posting, the individual fan can refine and extend their identity as a member of the FF community. The temporal gaps between the books and the films – coupled with the expanding possibilities of Internet communication – mean that fans can feel both creative and connected while circulating the cultural materials derived from their engagement with the HP ‘canon’. Canon is used to describe the HP oeuvre as approved by Rowling, her publishers, and her copyright assignees (for example, Warner Bros). In contrast, ‘fanon’ is the name used by fans to refer the body of work that results from their creative/subversive interactions with the core texts, such as “slash” (homo-erotic/romance) fiction. Differentiation between the two terms acknowledges the likelihood that J K Rowling or her assignees might not approve of fanon. The constructed identities of fans who deal solely with canon differ significantly from those who are engaged in fanon. The implicit (romantic) or explicit (full-action descriptions) sexualisation of HP FF is part of a complex identity play on behalf of both the writers and readers of FF. Further, given that the online communities are often nurtured and enriched by offline face to face exchanges with other participants, what an individual is prepared to read or not to read, or write or not write, says as much about that person’s public persona as does another’s overt consumption of pornography; or diet of art house films, in contrast to someone else’s enthusiasm for Friends. Hearn, Mandeville and Anthony argue that a “central assertion of postmodern views of consumption is that social identity can be interpreted as a function of consumption” (106), and few would disagree with them: herein lies the power of the brand. Noting that consumer culture centrally focuses upon harnessing ‘the desire to desire’, Streeter’s work (654, on the opening up of Internet connectivity) suggests a continuum from ‘desire provoked’; through anticipation, ‘excitement based on what people imagined would happen’; to a sense of ‘possibility’. All this was made more tantalising in terms of the ‘unpredictability’ of how cyberspace would eventually resolve itself (657). Thus a progression is posited from desire through to the thrill of comparing future possibilities with eventual outcomes. These forces clearly influence the HP FF phenomenon, where a section of HP fans have become impatient with the pace of the ‘official’/canon HP text. J K Rowling’s writing has slowed down to the point that Harry’s initial readership has overtaken him by several years. He’s about to enter his sixth year (of seven) at secondary school – his erstwhile-contemporaries have already left school or are about to graduate to University. HP is yet to have ‘a relationship’: his fans are engaged in some well-informed speculation as to a range of sexual possibilities which would likely take J K Rowling some light years from her marketers’ core readership. So the story is progressing more slowly than many fans would choose and with less spice than many would like (from the evidence of the web, at least). As indicated in the Endnote, the productivity of the fans, as they ‘fill in the gaps’ while waiting for the official narrative to resume, is prodigious. It may be that as the fans outstrip HP in their own social and emotional development they find his reactions in later books increasingly unbelievable, and/or out of character with the HP they felt they knew. Thus they develop an alternative ‘Harry’ in fanon. Some FF authors identify in advance which books they accept as canon, and which they have decided to ignore. For example, popular FF author Midnight Blue gives the setting of her evolving FF The Mirror of Maybe as “after Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and as an alternative to the events detailed in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, [this] is a Slash story involving Harry Potter and Severus Snape”. Some fans, tired of waiting for Rowling to get Harry grown up, ‘are doin’ it for themselves’. Alternatively, it may be that as they get older the first groups of HP fans are unwilling to relinquish their investment in the HP phenomenon, but are equally unwilling to align themselves uncritically with the anodyne story of the canon. Harry Potter, as Warner Bros licensed him, may be OK for pre-teens, but less cool for the older adolescent. The range of identities that can be constructed using the many online HP FF genres, however, permits wide scope for FF members to identify with dissident constructions of the HP narrative and helps to add to the momentum with which his fame increases. Latterly there is evidence that custodians of canon may be making subtle overtures to creators of fanon. Here, the viral marketers have a particular challenge – to embrace the huge market represented by fanon, while not disturbing those whose HP fandom is based upon the purity of canon. Some elements of fanon feel their discourses have been recognised within the evolving approved narrative . This sense within the fan community – that the holders of the canon have complimented them through an intertextual reference – is much prized and builds the momentum of the fame engagement (as has been demonstrated by Watson, with respect to the band ‘phish’). Specifically, Harry/Draco slash fans have delighted in the hint of a blown kiss from Draco Malfoy to Harry (as Draco sends Harry an origami bird/graffiti message in a Defence against the Dark Arts Class in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) as an acknowledgement of their cultural contribution to the development of the HP phenomenon. Streeter credits Raymond’s essay ‘The Cathedral and the Bazaar’ as offering a model for the incorporation of voluntary labour into the marketplace. Although Streeter’s example concerns the Open Source movement, derived from hacker culture, it has parallels with the prodigious creativity (and productivity) of the HP FF communities. Discussing the decision by Netscape to throw open the source code of its software in 1998, allowing those who use it to modify and improve it, Streeter comments that (659) “the core trope is to portray Linux-style software development like a bazaar, a real-life competitive marketplace”. The bazaar features a world of competing, yet complementary, small traders each displaying their skills and their wares for evaluation in terms of the product on offer. In contrast, “Microsoft-style software production is portrayed as hierarchical and centralised – and thus inefficient – like a cathedral”. Raymond identifies “ego satisfaction and reputation among other [peers]” as a specific socio-emotional benefit for volunteer participants (in Open Source development), going on to note: “Voluntary cultures that work this way are not actually uncommon [… for example] science fiction fandom, which unlike hackerdom has long explicitly recognized ‘egoboo’ (ego-boosting, or the enhancement of one’s reputation among other fans) as the basic drive behind volunteer activity”. This may also be a prime mover for FF engagement. Where fans have outgrown the anodyne canon they get added value through using the raw materials of the HP stories to construct fanon: establishing and building individual identities and communities through HP consumption practices in parallel with, but different from, those deemed acceptable for younger, more innocent, fans. The fame implicit in HP fandom is not only that of HP, the HP lead actor Daniel Radcliffe and HP’s creator J K Rowling; for some fans the famed ‘state or quality of being widely honoured and acclaimed’ can be realised through their participation in online fan culture – fans become famous and recognised within their own community for the quality of their work and the generosity of their sharing with others. The cultural capital circulated on the FF sites is both canon and fanon, a matter of some anxiety for the corporations that typically buy into and foster these mega-media products. As Jim Ward, Vice-President of Marketing for Lucasfilm comments about Star Wars fans (cited in Murray 11): “We love our fans. We want them to have fun. But if in fact someone is using our characters to create a story unto itself, that’s not in the spirit of what we think fandom is about. Fandom is about celebrating the story the way it is.” Slash fans would beg to differ, and for many FF readers and writers, the joy of engagement, and a significant engine for the growth of HP fame, is partly located in the creativity offered for readers and writers to fill in the gaps. Endnote HP FF ranges from posts on general FF sites (such as fanfiction.net >> books, where HP has 147,067 stories [on 4,490 pages of hotlinks] posted, compared with its nearest ‘rival’ Lord of the rings: with 33,189 FF stories). General FF sites exclude adult content, much of which is corralled into 18+ FF sites, such as Restrictedsection.org, set up when core material was expelled from general sites. As an example of one adult site, the Potter Slash Archive is selective (unlike fanfiction.net, for example) which means that only stories liked by the site team are displayed. Authors submitting work are asked to abide by a list of ‘compulsory parameters’, but ‘warnings’ fall under the category of ‘optional parameters’: “Please put a warning if your story contains content that may be offensive to some authors [sic], such as m/m sex, graphic sex or violence, violent sex, character death, major angst, BDSM, non-con (rape) etc”. Adult-content FF readers/writers embrace a range of unexpected genres – such as Twincest (incest within either of the two sets of twin characters in HP) and Weasleycest (incest within the Weasley clan) – in addition to mainstream romance/homo-erotica pairings, such as that between Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy. (NB: within the time frame 16 August – 4 October, Harry Potter FF writers had posted an additional 9,196 stories on the fanfiction.net site alone.) References ABS. 8147.0 Use of the Internet by Householders, Australia. http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/ e8ae5488b598839cca25682000131612/ ae8e67619446db22ca2568a9001393f8!OpenDocument, 2001, 2001>. Baym, Nancy. “The Emergence of Community in Computer-Mediated Communication.” CyberSociety: Computer-Mediated Communication and Community. Ed. S. Jones. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1995. 138-63. Blue, Midnight. “The Mirror of Maybe.” http://www.greyblue.net/MidnightBlue/Mirror/default.htm>. Coates, Laura. “Muggle Kids Battle for Domain Name Rights. Irish Computer. http://www.irishcomputer.com/domaingame2.html>. Fanfiction.net. “Category: Books” http://www.fanfiction.net/cat/202/>. Green, Lelia. Technoculture: From Alphabet to Cybersex. Sydney: Allen & Unwin. Hearn, Greg, Tom Mandeville and David Anthony. The Communication Superhighway: Social and Economic Change in the Digital Age. Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 1997. Hills, Matt. Fan Cultures. London: Routledge, 2002. Houghton Mifflin. “Potlatch.” Encyclopedia of North American Indians. http://college.hmco.com/history/readerscomp/naind/html/ na_030900_potlatch.htm>. Kirby, Justin. “Brand Papers: Getting the Bug.” Brand Strategy July-August 2004. http://www.dmc.co.uk/pdf/BrandStrategy07-0804.pdf>. Marshall, P. David. “Technophobia: Video Games, Computer Hacks and Cybernetics.” Media International Australia 85 (Nov. 1997): 70-8. Murray, Simone. “Celebrating the Story the Way It Is: Cultural Studies, Corporate Media and the Contested Utility of Fandom.” Continuum 18.1 (2004): 7-25. Raymond, Eric S. The Cathedral and the Bazaar. 2000. http://www.catb.org/~esr/writings/cathedral-bazaar/cathedral-bazaar/ar01s11.html>. Streeter, Thomas. The Romantic Self and the Politics of Internet Commercialization. Cultural Studies 17.5 (2003): 648-68. Turner, Graeme, Frances Bonner, and P. David Marshall. Fame Games: The Production of Celebrity in Australia. Melbourne: Cambridge UP. Watson, Nessim. “Why We Argue about Virtual Community: A Case Study of the Phish.net Fan Community.” Virtual Culture: Identity and Communication in Cybersociety. Ed. Steven G. Jones. London: Sage, 1997. 102-32. Citation reference for this article MLA Style Green, Lelia, and Carmen Guinery. "Harry Potter and the Fan Fiction Phenomenon." M/C Journal 7.5 (2004). echo date('d M. Y'); ?> <http://journal.media-culture.org.au/0411/14-green.php>. APA Style Green, L., and C. Guinery. (Nov. 2004) "Harry Potter and the Fan Fiction Phenomenon," M/C Journal, 7(5). Retrieved echo date('d M. Y'); ?> from <http://journal.media-culture.org.au/0411/14-green.php>.