Review of the Captain America Graphic Novel ‘TRUTH: Red,White and Black’ Focusing on Parallels with the Infamous USPHS Syphilis Study at Tuskegee

This review presents the first detailed presentation of the parallelism between the Tuskegee Syphilis Study and the Captain America graphic novel ‘TRUTH: Red, White and Black’, published as a graphic novel by Marvel Comics in 2004 as a paperback, and then in 2009 as a hardcover. First written, published and distributed monthly in 2003 as pre-sequel seven comic book series to tell the story of the origins of the WWII superhero Captain America. In 2003, Marvel Comics chose to tell a ‘very dark story’ to explain the origins of Captain America, a half century after the initial introduction of Captain America as a WWII action hero in 1940. By detailing—for the first time—nine parallel aspects between these two storylines, this review demonstrates how Marvel Comics brought the tragic Tuskegee Syphilis Study story into the popular press, thus reaching an audience far beyond traditional bioethics academicians. This review is intended to stimulate and guide classroom discussions on the ethical issues at the core of the infamous Tuskegee Syphilis Study allowing bioethical issues to be made more accessible to the general public, via school curriculums, by the use of graphic novels.     

Use of Anchoring Motifs to Support the Central and Peripheral Locations of Opsins in Optogenetics

Neuroscience and Behavioral Physiology - One version of the optogenetic prosthetization of the degenerative retina is an approach based on creation of an ON/OFF receptive field for ganglion neurons...     

Comparative Characteristics of the Expression of Inducible NO Synthase in the Hippocampus of Humans and Experimental Animals

Neuroscience and Behavioral Physiology - Objective: To study the characteristics of the expression of inducible NO synthase (iNOS) in hippocampal fields CA1 and CA3 in adult male humans and adult...     

Cytokine-targeted therapy for the management of solid organ transplant recipients

IntroductionThe number of solid organ transplants completed annually continues to trend upwards each year. Despite this, maintenance immunosuppression available on the market has remained relatively stagnant. Standard triple immunosuppression, composed typically of tacrolimus, mycophenolate, and steroids, lead to many side effects that limit the use of these medications. Tacrolimus, specifically, causes nephrotoxicity that can lead to renal dysfunction requiring a kidney transplant down the road. Alternative therapies for the management of immunosuppression need to be identified to try to mitigate these adverse effects.BodyCytokines are responsible for facilitating T cell differentiation and lead to the activation of inflammatory mediators that can contribute to graft damage and ultimately rejection. IL-4, IL-6, IL-12/23, and IL-15 are attractive targets for medications to try to ameliorate graft rejection. Various cytokine-targeted medications are currently available on the market for the treatment of inflammatory and autoimmune conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, Crohn’s, and multiple sclerosis.ConclusionThis article reviews cytokine involvement in alloimmunity and the potential role cytokine-targeted therapy may play in prevention of allograft rejection in solid organ transplant recipients.     

Inventory of molecular markers affecting biological characteristics of avian influenza A viruses

Virus Genes - Avian influenza viruses (AIVs) circulate globally, spilling over into domestic poultry and causing zoonotic infections in humans. Fortunately, AIVs are not yet capable of causing...     

Diversity and distribution of Maize-associated totivirus strains from Tanzania

Virus Genes - Typically associated with fungal species, members of the viral family Totiviridae have recently been shown to be associated with plants, including important crop species, such as...