Cambodia’s commercial sex industry has long been the subject of transnational concern, yet this enduring problematization has yielded little in the way of lasting ‘solutions.’ Central to constructions of Cambodia’s sex trafficking problem are stories – narrative and numerical – that are not entertainment or fact, respectively, but political and ideological discourses that structure social problems and their solutions while masquerading as unmediated. In this media ethnography, I thematically analyzed aid documentaries, websites, reports, and tax returns to explore how sex trafficking in Cambodia is constructed in aid discourses as a problem to be solved. I argue that anti-trafficking rhetoric, narrated over iconographies of Cambodia’s savagery, entangles notions of material and moral poverty. Documentaries construct Cambodian families as both broke and broken, and thus as giving rise to Cambodian sex trafficking’s central, archetypal dyad: the bad mother and the innocent daughter. I further articulate how the trope of the innocent daughter is contingent on her framing as a ‘sex slave.’ These reductive discursive constructions enable similarly oversimplified solutions. The solution to ‘bad mothers’ is ‘better parents,’ enacted through maternalistic and paternalistic interventions; the solution to ‘sex slavery’ is ‘freedom at all costs,’ articulated through raid and rescue interventions. I suggest that articulations of the civilizing mission run through anti-trafficking discourses and interventions, evidenced by their attempts to use numbers to render the complexities of sex trafficking knowable and therefore manageable, but also in their commitment to ‘developing' the Cambodian sex slave through rehabilitation programs that replace sex trafficking with more civilized, though still exploitative, forms of gendered labour. The ways in which sex trafficking in Cambodia is constructed in aid discourses as a problem to be solved therefore ensures the ongoing presence of the anti-trafficking apparatus in Cambodia and the ongoing exploitation and abuse of the Cambodian girls subjected to aid interventions. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

No description available.

Integral membrane proteins are targeted to discrete compartments through the action of a number of transport pathways. The post-translational modification of cargo with ubiquitin is a key regulator of protein sorting. Ubiquitinated cargo are bound by specific cargo sorting machinery and directed towards the appropriate destination. Therefore, the identification and characterization of the proteins involved in cargo ubiquitination is critical to understanding the regulation of protein sorting. In the work presented here, we characterize the role of the E3 ubiquitin ligases, RNF126 and Rabring7, in two distinct membrane trafficking pathways. First, we show that RNF126 and Rabring7 are involved in the ligand induced downregulation of cell surface receptors. RNF126 and Rabring7 associate with the EGFR, amongst other RTKs, and promotes its ubiquitination. RNF126 and Rabring7 are required for the efficient sorting of the EGFR through the late endocytic compartment. We also show that the depletion of Rabring7 attenuates the degradation of MET and that both RNF126 and Rabring7 regulate the sorting of CXCR4 from an early endocytic compartment. In addition, the depletion of RNF126 or Rabring7 destabilizes ESCRT-II and reduces the number of multivesicular bodies formed after EGF stimulation. Second, we found that RNF126 regulates the sorting of the CI-MPR. In cells transiently depleted of RNF126, the CI-MPR is dispersed into a transferrin receptor positive endocytic compartment. This effect is specific to the CI-MPR as other cargos that are sorted between the endosome at the Golgi remain unaffected. We found that RNF126 physically associates with the clathrin adaptor GGA3 and promotes its ubiquitination, suggesting that RNF126 regulates GGA3 mediated CI-MPR sorting. Together, this work furthers our understanding regarding the role of ubiquitin in membrane traffic.

No description available.

Despite its long pre-existence, the issue of human trafficking (especially for sexual purposes) has become the epicentre of attention since the closing of the past century. The globe-wide attempt of politicians, academics, practitioners, technocrats, activists, and journalists to define, advocate, measure, and ‘control’ people trafficking has brought to the fore particular (re)actions. One such example is the EU and international law that aim to facilitate the legal framework within which national administrations should embark upon to ‘better deal’ with human trafficking. While EU and international law can only go so far as to lay the theoretical basis that signatory states must follow for dealing with human trafficking, ultimately, planning and implementing public policy become the prerogative of the individual state. In light of this, the central contribution of this study is the exploration of the application of EU and international law in concern with human trafficking within the Cypriot context. In other words, how EU and international law on human trafficking are applied in day-to-day interactions between state employees, civil groups, and trafficked women. For this purpose, the study examines the interpretation and application of the local legislation by the criminal justice agencies as well as the local NGOs. Notably, such undertakings are informed by past and present geopolitical and socio-economic developments that have been taking place since the British colonisation of Cyprus. Research findings (based on ethnographic fieldwork and documentary study), demonstrate that EU’s attempt to enforce legislative cohesion, common policies, and harmonised practices over the issue of human trafficking across its Member States is yet to materialise. The case of Cyprus, and at times of other EU States, are used as a paradigm in which both, the EU acquis and international law fail to impose legal prescriptions on national authorities. To illustrate, the dimensions of prevention, detection, identification, prosecution, and adjudication of human trafficking, as well as trafficking victims’ protection, rehabilitation, and repatriation are explored in piecemeal and they all testify of systemic deviations from EU and international guidelines. Both Cypriot public services and local NGOs assigned to handle human trafficking are not in a position to bear the standards laid out by the EU and the CoE. Consequently, victims of trafficking are often predisposed to adverse conditions and as a result, they are often undertreated. Moreover, it is often the case that law on paper—both EU and Cypriot— and law in practice are diametrically different.

Vaccinia virus (VACV) is a large double-stranded DNA virus with a cytoplasmic site of replication. It has a complex life cycle that produces two distinct infectious virion forms, Intracellular Mature Virions (IMVs) and Extracellular Enveloped Virions (EEVs). The host cell microtubule trafficking machinery is hijacked by the virus at three distinct positions of the viral life cycle. After virus entry, the virus cores are transported to pre-nuclear sites where they form viral factories that ultimately produce fully functional and infectious IMVs. A small proportion of IMVs are further transported to sites of wrapping, where they are enveloped by a host-derived double membrane to form Intracellular Enveloped Virions (IEVs). The IEVs are then transported to the cell periphery to facilitate efficient viral spread. The viral proteins A36, F12 and E2 together with the kinesin-1 microtubule motor protein are thought to be involved in IEV egress from the site of wrapping to the cell periphery, although the exact mechanism of movement is unclear. Until recently, A36 was the only known protein to interact with the kinesin-1 motor through kinesin light chain (KLC), but F12 has also been shown to interact with KLC through E2. The precise mechanism of how the IEV interacts with and activates the kinesin-1 motor protein is unclear, and this study explores the interactions of IEV proteins with KLCs in detail, mapping interactions between KLC and A36 or F12/E2. A36, F12 and E2 also show no sequence or predicted structural homology to any other known proteins, and structural studies were performed in an attempt solve their 3D structure. The CRISPR-Cas9 targeted genome editing tool was also utilised to knockout different KLC isoforms in multiple cell lines to assess their contribution to IEV egress as well as cellular trafficking. These studies will provide insight into the mechanisms behind the spatial and temporal control of kinesin motor activity in the cell.

Human trafficking affects every country in the world regardless of a country's history, laws, economic status, anti-trafficking efforts, or religious beliefs. Trafficking in persons has largely resulted from mass globalization during the 20th century. Human trafficking is a violation of the most fundamental human rights and must be addressed in a critical way in order to protect and prevent further trafficking. Child trafficking is one aspect of the trafficking of persons which fundamentally violates the rights of children. Child trafficking and exploitation is currently plaguing many countries including The Republic of Cameroon. Both the practices to combat trafficking and progress trafficking are evident with reference to the government of Cameroon and Cameroonian society. The objective of this project is to identify and explain how the government of Cameroon and its citizens are both combating and progressing child trafficking and exploitation.

Cellular pH homeostasis plays crucial roles in cellular functions, and it is now widely recognized that Na⁺/H⁺ exchangers are among the most prominent players in this process. Although recently described mammalian Na⁺/H⁺ exchanger NHE7 has attracted much attention, its biological functions remain largely unknown. Most proteins exist as protein complexes in the cell and elicit their unique functions in collaboration with their binding partners. Therefore, identification and characterization of binding proteins will often unveil unexpected functions of the protein of interest. To begin to elucidate biological roles of the novel class of Na⁺/H⁺ exchanger NHE7, yeast two-hybrid screening was conducted and several binding candidates were identified. Among these candidates, I show that Secretory Carrier Membrane Proteins (SCAMPs) are novel NHE7 binding proteins and that SCAMPs regulate endocytic trafficking of NHE7 from the recycling endosomes to the trans-Golgi network (TGN). In agreement with this finding, I found that NHE7 can also be targeted to the plasma membrane and then internalized. Caveolins, structural proteins for caveolae, were identified as NHE7-binding proteins and it was initially hypothesized that caveolins might regulate NHE7-internalization. Interestingly, caveolins bound to NHE7 through a novel binding domain and facilitated its association to caveolae/lipid rafts, but did not affect NHE7-internalization. I also show that SCAMP2 associates with the heterotrimeric G protein β subunit (Gβ) and regulates the ERK1/2 signaling. Moreover, NHE7 was found to associate with both SCAMP2 and Gβ in the cell, suggesting that ERK1/2 signaling mediated by the SCAMP2-Gβ complex might regulate NHE7.

The tyrosine kinase receptor Tie-2 is expressed on the surface of endothelial cells and is necessary for angiogenesis and vascular stability. To date, the best characterized ligands for Tie-2 are Angiopoietin-1 (Ang-1) and Angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2). Ang-1 has been identified as the main activating ligand for Tie-2 while the role of Ang-2 has been controversial since its discovery; some studies reported Ang-2 as a Tie-2 antagonist while others described Ang-2 as a Tie-2 agonist. The purpose of this thesis was to understand: (1) how the receptor Tie-2 is regulated by Ang-1 and Ang-2 in endothelial cells, (2) to compare the effects of Ang-1 and Ang-2, and (3) to determine the arrangement and distribution of Tie-2 in endothelial cells. The research presented in this thesis indicates that Tie-2 is arranged in variably sized clusters on the endothelial cell surface. Clusters of Tie-2 were expressed on all surfaces of cells: on the apical plasma membrane, on the tips of microvilli, and on the basolateral plasma membrane. When endothelial cells were stimulated with Ang-1, Tie-2 was rapidly internalized and degraded. Upon Ang-1 stimulation, Tie-2 localized to clathrin-coated pits on all surfaces of endothelial cells indicating that one pathway mediating Tie-2 internalization is through clathrin-coated pits. After activation of Tie-2, Ang-1 dissociates from the endothelial cell surface and accumulates in the surrounding medium. When experiments were repeated with Ang-2, it was discovered that Ang-2 induced all of the same effects on Tie-2 as Ang-1 but at a much reduced level and rate, indicating that Ang-2 likely functions as a partial agonist for Tie-2 in endothelial cells. / PhD

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Rutgers University, 2009. / "Graduate Program in School of Criminal Justice." Includes bibliographical references (p. 348-368).