bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Do Human Rights Have Religious Foundations?
Authors: Kiper Jordan
Published: November 2012

Abstract

Do human rights have religious foundations? Among philosophers and theologians, the question tends to invite two standard replies. Some accept the boundary between the secular and the religious, and say that the universal protection of freedoms, possessions, and duties associated with human rights extend beyond any religious system. Others are impressed by arguments suggesting that the moral standards within human rights are inherently religious. In this paper I propose a third position. By taking the perspective of relative universalism, I draw a distinction between the conceptualization and implementation of human rights. The former is a historical process that is arguably bereft of religion, while the latter is a dynamic process that often embraces it. This distinction motivates my central thesis: although religion is absent from the normative and historical foundations of human rights, the realization of human rights in some regions of the world today often requires it.
Religious Symbols in Educational Institutions: Jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights
Authors: Radačić Ivana
Published: November 2012

Abstract

The issue of religious symbols in educational institutions has been a source of vigorous legal and political controversy. Two types of cases have been litigated before the European Court of Human Rights: those concerning the wearing of the Islamic headscarf in schools and universities, and those concerning the presence of the crucifix in school classrooms. In this article, I shall analyse these cases, assessing how the Court balances different rights and State interests, focusing in particular on the Court’s interpretation of the principles of neutrality/secularism and of gender equality. I shall criticise the Court’s deference to the State, arguing that it should more strictly supervise how States respect human rights. Respect for human rights requires that the States respect individual’s religious freedoms, be autonomous from the religion and safeguard the principle of plurality. While the Court has proclaimed these principles, it has failed to apply them in these cases.
What Has Aristotelian Dialectic to Offer a Neoplatonist? A Possible Sample of Iamblichus at Simplicius on the Categories 12,10-13,12
Authors: Griffin* Michael J.
Published: November 2012

Abstract

Simplicius in Cat. 12,10-13,12 presents an interesting justification for the study of Aristotle’s Categories, based in Neoplatonic psychology and metaphysics. I suggest that this passage could be regarded as a testimonium to Iamblichus’ reasons for endorsing Porphyry’s selection of the Categories as an introductory text of Platonic philosophy. These Iamblichean arguments, richly grounded in Neoplatonic metaphysics and psychology, may have exercised an influence comparable to Porphyry’s.
Persian Historical Documents of Georgia (Sixteenth to Eighteenth Centuries): Aspects of Linguistic Analysis
Authors: Giunashvili Helen , Abuladze Tamar
Published: November 2012

Abstract

Iranian-Georgian interrelation in the 16th to 18th centuries is reflected in the rich collections of Persian historical documents preserved in Georgian depositories. Their language, lexis, semantics, style, and phraseology clearly reveal the literary language’s development in the common cultural area. This article examines a document issued by Shah ʿAbbās II in 1658 concerning atoyulfor Papuna Tsitsishvili, a representative of the famous Kartli princely house.
Simeon Bekbulatovich’s Remarkable Career as Tatar Khan, Grand Prince of Rus’, and Monastic Elder
Authors: Ostrowski Donald
Published: November 2012

Tsar Simeon Bekbulatovich was the nephew of Ivan IV’s second wife, Mariia Temriukovna. He was a Chingissid who had a remarkable career, first, as khan of Kasimov, then after entering Muscovite service, as head of the Muscovite army’s “main regiment”, as grand prince of Rus′, and as grand prince of Tver′. He also married Anastasia Ivanovna Miloslavskaia. Finally he was tonsured as the monk Stefan and was buried in the Simonov Monastery. The episode that has attracted the most attention in the sources and in the scholarly literature was his appointment as grand prince of all Rus′ between September 1575 and September 1576. Ivan IV held on to his other titles, including tsar of Kazan′ and Astrakhan′, but he also acquired an estate as the prince of Moscow under Grand Prince Simeon. In this article, I classified the primary source testimony into two categories: those accounts contemporary to the time of Ivan IV and those written after his death in 1584. After analyzing them and comparing them with the various historiographical explanations, I proposed that Ivan IV placed Simeon on the grand princely throne of Rus′ as a legal maneuver to allow him to go after certain individuals in the ruling elite who he thought were plotting against him. These individuals who he suspected were mostly former members of the oprichnina. Ivan had claimed to the metropolitan in 1565 that he was being prevented from investigating and punishing certain individuals and again to foreigners in 1575 about the perfidiousness of his subjects. By having someone else serve as grand prince of Rus′ who would give him the go ahead, he would be freed from constraints on his actions.
The Mystery of a Political Masquerade (Concerning the Article of Donald Ostrowski)
Authors: Filjushkin Alexander
Published: November 2012

Ostrowski’s article poses the important question as to why Ivan the Terrible appointed Simeon Bekbulatovich as Grand Prince of all Rus’. Ostrowski describes Bekbulatovich’s identities as khan of the Kasimov Khanate, Chinggisid prince, and a Tatar enrolled in the service of the Grand Prince of Moscow. It is also quite possible that after his baptism, Bekbulatovich became a sincere Orthodox Christian. He was also a warrior and a military commander, a landowner and a slaveholder. But the central event of his life was his mysterious assignment on the Muscovite throne in 1575. It seems, however, that there is no understanding for this mysterious event. Ostrowski's paper doesn't provide an answer to this question. It was likely a Muscovite medieval performance and, unfortunately, today’s modern historians do not understand the meaning and purpose of this episode.
Simeon Bekbulatovich and Steppe Politics: Some Thoughts on Donald Ostrowski’s Interpretation of the Tsar’s Remarkable Career
Authors: Martin Janet
Published: November 2012

Donald Ostrowski proposes that Ivan IV made Simeon Bekbulatovich the grand prince of all Rus’ in order to thwart a conspiracy aimed at replacing Ivan with the Crimean khan. Ostrowski invokes the theory of steppe politics, which includes the principle that only Chinggisids could hold the title of tsar, to explain and support his hypothesis. A review of the practice of steppe politics in the decades preceding 1575, however, reveals that the rivalries among competing branches of the Chinggisid dynasty and the bases for Crimean hostility toward Muscovy make it unlikely that Ivan could have effectively preempted the presumed coup by yielding his throne to Simeon Bekbulatovich. This observation suggests that the theory of steppe politics does not offer a satisfactory explanation for the appointment of Simeon to the position of grand prince of all Rus’.
Gleb of Minsk’s Widow: Neglected Evidence on the Rule of a Woman in Rus’ian History?
Authors: Garcia de la Puente Ines
Published: November 2012

The widow of Gleb Vseslavich of Minsk outlived her husband by 40 years. Upon her death in 1158 AD, the Kievan Chronicle inserted a long eulogy where manifold details of her death and burial are given, and where her generous sponsorship of the Caves Monastery is repeatedly highlighted. This unusually (for a woman) long and thorough eulogy is the catalyst for this piece of research.

In order to cast light on why her death attracted so much attention, we study what the circumstances of the last forty years of Gleb's widow's life might have been. We do so by merging the partial conclusions that the research in different disciplines have made available. Syntactical and semantical analysis lead to the proposition of a new interpretation of the eulogy: that the Kievan Chronicle is, in fact, telling us that she ruled Minsk for the forty years of her widowhood. In support of this theory, a study of chronicle entries on Minsk and Polotsk during those decades reveals an apparent vacuum of power in Minsk. Finally, sphragistical data provide indirect evidence of some kind of princely female rule in the north-west of Rus’ in approximately the same time period.

Although no part of the research provides undeniable evidence, all parts point towards the same plausible answer: the combination of the results of linguistic analysis, of chronicle data, and of sphragistics favors the hypothesis that the widow of Gleb Vseslavich acted as the ruler of Minsk between the death of her husband and her own death.
Contingent Communities: Regional Ethnic Mobilization in the Yeltsin Era
Authors: George Julie A.
Published: November 2012

Scholars disagree regarding the interests and impulses that drive secessionist ethnic nationalism. In Constructing Grievance: Ethnic Nationalism in Russia’s Republics, Elise Giuliano argues that, in the first decade of the Russian Federation’s independence, nationalist groups that highlighted economic discrimination by ethnic Russians against titular ethnic minorities were more able to spark ethnic and territorial separatist demands. She argues that the precise nature of economic experience, where often the actual economic discrimination was more ambiguous than that perceived, was less important than the nationalist groups’ message. In all, this book offers a compelling counterpoint to other work on ethnic separatism in Russia, which has emphasized long-standing historical grievances, institutional legacies, and the interests of political entrepreneurs rather than public interests.
Institutional Constraints and Expanding Spaces: A Case Study on Heifer International’s Localized Development in China
Authors: Taiyong Chen
Published: November 2012

Abstract

One of the first international NGOs to enter China after the country’s Reform and Opening, Heifer International uses the donation of livestock and technical training as its entry point for poverty alleviation and community development. After entering China, like a number of other international NGOs, Heifer encountered a number of limitations on its existence and development, however, through clear analysis and definition of environmental differences and institutional constraints, as well as proactive adjustment of its strategies and methods of work, Heifer was able to respond to differences and break through limitations, fight for survival and a space in which to develop, establish positive interactions with local communities and governments, and expand the scope and influence of its operations.
Why Did Henry Stimson Spare Kyoto from the Bomb?: Confusion in Postwar Historiography
Authors: Kelly Jason M.
Published: November 2012

While the United States Air Force systematically bombed the majority of urban Japan during the final months of World War II, the city of Kyoto remained nearly untouched, offering an almost pristine nuclear target. Yet Secretary of War Henry Stimson, the central figure behind the sparing of the city, struck Kyoto from the list of nuclear targets. Stimson’s efforts to preserve Kyoto have received only passing attention from postwar scholars. A review of relevant postwar historiography, however, reveals three frameworks that provide explanations for the sparing of the city: moralist, orthodox, and revisionist. The moralist approach views Stimson’s decision to preserve Kyoto as an effort to live up to the principles of an earlier era. Orthodox scholars suggest Stimson’s decision was driven by a desire to save lives and end the war quickly. Revisionists, by contrast, argue that Stimson’s calculus was shaped by concern over the growing specter of a standoff with the Soviet Union. The imprecise and at times contradictory explanations furnished thus far fail to provide a convincing interpretation of Kyoto’s role in the final years of the war. To understand Stimson’s adamancy requires examining references to the city in his diary and placing them into broader context to gain a sense of how the city related to the strategic objectives and challenges facing the secretary of war.
An Analysis of Soft Law Applicable to Humanitarian Assistance: Relative Normativity in Action?
Authors: Cubie Dug
Published: November 2012

There is limited binding international law specifically covering the provision of humanitarian assistance in response to natural and human-made disasters. Yet a variety of authoritative soft law texts have been developed in the past 20 years, including the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, the Red Cross Red Crescent Code of Conduct and the Sphere Project’s Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response. While such ‘non-binding normative standards’ do not carry the weight of international law, they play an essential role in the provision of humanitarian assistance albeit subject to their limited enforceability vis-à-vis intended beneficiaries and to their voluntary application by humanitarian actors. Notwithstanding a lack of legal compulsion, certain non-binding normative standards may directly influence the actions of States and non-State actors, and so obtain a strongly persuasive character. Analysis of texts that influence the practice of humanitarian assistance advances our understanding of humanitarian principles and performance standards for disaster response. As the International Law Commission debates draft articles on the Protection of Persons in the Event of Disasters, such non-binding normative standards are crucial to the development of an internationally accepted legal framework to protect victims of disasters.
Post-war Developments of the Martens Clause: The Codification of ‘Crimes Against Humanity’ Applicable to Acts of Genocide
Authors: Salter Michael , Eastwood Maggi
Published: November 2012

The Martens Clause continues to provide resources for a free-standing norm of customary law prohibiting acts of genocide that are free from many of the restrictions concerning, for example, protected groups contained in the original 1948 Genocide Convention’s definition. This article addresses post-war developments of the Martens Clause and the codification of crimes against humanity applicable to acts of genocide. It suggests an alternative way of examining how the idea of humanity originated from the Nuremberg and post-Nuremberg developments. We also explore the historical developments of the 1948 Genocide Convention, and its application within ad hoc tribunals that have adopted a narrow definition and application. Finally, we conclude that through an expansive and sympathetic judicial interpretation and legislative reception, the Martens Clause has operated as one of the key milestones along the path that culminated in the international criminalisation of genocide.
Taking Armed Conflict Out of the Classroom: International and Domestic Legal Protections for Students When Combatants Use Schools
Authors: Sheppard Bede , Kizuka Kennji
Published: November 2012

Schools around the world are being used for military purposes by State security forces and non-state armed groups. A review of conflicts in 23 countries since 2006 reveals that military use of schools often disrupts, or altogether halts, children’s education and places students and schools at increased risk of abuse and attack. While international humanitarian law does not prohibit the military use of schools, failing to evacuate students from partially occupied schools, which have become military objectives subject to attack, may violate humanitarian law. Moreover, where military use impedes education, States may also violate international human rights obligations to ensure the right to education. Despite these negative consequences and the international legal framework restricting this practice, few States have enacted national prohibitions or restrictions to regulate the military use of schools explicitly. However, the experiences of countries heavily affected by conflict – Colombia, India, and the Philippines – indicate that States can counter opposition armed groups while completely prohibiting the military use of schools. This article argues that States should adopt and implement national legislation and military laws that restrict the military use of schools to better comply with their existing international obligations to protect schoolchildren and ensure the right to education.
The Influence of Painting Composition on Human Perception
Authors: Park Woon Ju , Chong Sang Chul
Published: November 2012

Artists have long explored the way in which we see the world, and they have developed their own tools to portray their vision. The present study investigated whether the compositional information in paintings, an artistic device invented by artists, is utilized when people view paintings. In Experiment 1, we categorized paintings depending on their compositions through experts’ ratings. Using the stimuli from Experiment 1, Experiment 2 tested if the compositional information interferes with a target detection task. We found that the false alarms increased when the targets and distracters had the same composition compared to when they were different. Finally, Experiments 3A and 3B examined whether composition information influences the perceptual similarity of paintings. Through a multi-dimensional scaling analysis, we first showed that paintings with the same composition were proximately located in the mental space (Experiment 3A). Using this distance from the MDS analysis, we found that performance on the target detection task decreased as this distance became close (Experiment 3B). These results suggest that people make use of compositions in paintings, thus providing a possible link between artworks and the human visual system.
The Effect of Attention on Context Dependent Synesthetic Experiences
Authors: Blair Christopher David , Caplovitz Gideon Paul
Published: November 2012

Here we report the results of a brief experiment investigating the role of attention in mediating contextual effects on synesthetic experiences. Specifically, we examine a grapheme–color synesthete for whom the grapheme letter ‘O’ and number ‘0’ are associated with two very different colors. We presented the grapheme ‘0’ in an array of graphemes that provided ambiguous contextual cues, such that the same grapheme could be perceived either as the number ‘0’ or as the letter ‘O’. We find that an attentional cue that draws attention to one or the other of the contexts biases the perceived synesthetic color of the ‘0’ grapheme to that associated with the cued context. This is true even when the physical color of the grapheme corresponds to the un-cued context.
Depth of Field Affects Perceived Depth-width Ratios in Photographs of Natural Scenes
Authors: Nefs Harold T.
Published: November 2012

The aim of the study was to find out how much influence depth of field has on the perceived ratio of depth and width in photographs of natural scenes. Depth of field is roughly defined as the distance range that is perceived as sharp in the photograph. Four different semi-natural scenes consisting of a central and two flanking figurines were used. For each scene, five series of photos were made, in which the distance in depth between the central figurine and the flanking figurines increased. These series of photographs had different amounts of depth of field. In the first experiment participants adjusted the position of the two flanking figurines relative to a central figurine, until the perceived distance in the depth dimension equaled the perceived lateral distance between the two flanking figurines. Viewing condition was either monocular or binocular (non-stereo). In the second experiment, the participants did the same task but this time we varied the viewing distance. We found that the participants’ depth/width settings increased with increasing depth of field. As depth of field increased, the perceived depth in the scene was reduced relative to the perceived width. Perceived depth was reduced relative to perceived width under binocular viewing conditions compared to monocular viewing conditions. There was a greater reduction when the viewing distance was increased. As photographs of natural scenes contain many highly redundant or conflicting depth cues, we conclude therefore that local image blur is an important cue to depth. Moreover, local image blur is not only taken into account in the perception of egocentric distances, but also affects the perception of depth within the scene relative to lateral distances within the scene.
‘Judge and Jury’: Juridical Activity of Court Committees in the Baltic Fleet from March to August 1917
Authors: Александрович Бажанов Денис
Published: November 2012

Одним из порожденных Февральской революцией явлений новой жизни являлась борьба за завоевание революционными органами власти авторитета у граждан. Наказания преступлений стали одним из проявлений этой борьбы. Возникшие в марте 1917 г. на кораблях Балтийского флота судовые комитеты превратились в органы матросского самоуправления. Не признавая старых юридических норм, зафиксированных в Военно-морском уставе о наказаниях и Военно-морском дисциплинарном уставе, не имея на первых порах возможности обратиться к местным советским органам власти, судовые комитеты, таким образом, стали источником нового права. Несмотря на передачу летом 1917 г. функций наказания преступлений в руки создававшихся временных военно-морских или корабельных судов, комитеты остались органом поддержания дисциплины. Тем самым, они стали существенным элементом новой, революционной системы власти на кораблях Балтийского флота, вытесняя из неё командный состав.
On Improving Material Support for the Orthodox Clergy in January-February 1917: A Last Unsuccessful Effort
Authors: Сергеевна Бокарева Людмила
Published: November 2012

Царское правительство неоднократно пыталось решить вопрос о материальном обеспечение духовенства. Настоящая статья посвящена последним таким попыткам, предпринятым властью накануне Февральской революции 1917 года. Разрешение проблемы материального обеспечения приходского духовенства подразумевало под собой несколько путей: либо перевод их на казенное жалованье; либо обязать содержать их на местные средства, за счет общины верующих; либо сочетать казенное и местное финансирование духовенства. В январе-феврале 1917 г. Комиссией по вопросу об улучшении содержания православного духовенства при Св. Синоде было принято решение в пользу фиксированного жалования за счет государственной казны с условием отмены платы за обязательные требы. Вопросы определения размеров пенсионных окладов и окладов содержания православного духовенства обсуждались параллельно. Был выработан новый «Устав о пенсиях епархиальным духовенству». Однако, ни одно из выработанных преобразований так и не получило законодательного одобрения.
Religious Consumers and Institutional Challenges to American Public Schools: Cases from Jewish Education
Authors: Saiger Aaron J.
Published: November 2012

The paradigm of American K–12 education is shifting as the institution of local educational polities, each responsible for its own “common schools,” faces competition from programs of school choice. Although charter schools and related reforms are generally studied in terms of quality and equity, the rise of consumer sovereignty as an alternative to political sovereignty as an organizing principle for educational governance has much wider rami­fications. Paradigms of choice have already begun dramatically to alter religious education and its relationship to public schooling. Moreover, because these paradigms rely upon consumer preferences and the aggregation of those preferences by markets, the shape of religious activity in state-subsidized schools will be determined increasingly by consumers and producers – parents and schools – rather than by political actors. Government is likely to find its ability to limit and guide religion/school interactions substantially, and increas­ingly, constrained. In making this argument, this paper draws primarily upon examples from a small but instructive religious sector in American K–12 education, that of Jewish education. It discusses the direct deployment of the charter-school form to provide Jewish education. It then assesses ways in which shifts in the public framing of education from one of politics to one of markets has transformed public school politics in school districts dominated by Orthodox Jews.
Between vowels and values: Education in religious communities
Authors: Hostovsky Brandes Tamar
Published: November 2012

The present paper examines the issue of the extent of autonomy that religious minorities enjoy in the area of education, specifically in determining the curriculum that children belonging to religious minorities are required to study. Although there is an abundance of scholarship on the topic of exemptions from educational requirements, I am particularly interested in exploring two issues that are relatively neglected. The first regards the different types of rights based on which requests for exemptions are being made, specifically whether requests for exemptions based on religious liberty are different from those based on culture. I argue that requests based on religious obligations often take a more categorical form than claims based on the cultural aspects of religion. As a result, mitigating measures that fall short of exemptions, and which may be able to resolve claims based on culture, cannot resolve claims based on religious obligations. The second is whether the interest of the state in promoting social solidarity justifies, at least in some circumstances, rejecting claims for such exemptions. In examining claims for exemptions in the field of education, liberal scholars usually focus on the interest of the state in ensuring that citizens are self-sufficient and in instilling democratic values in them. The interest of the state in maintaining social solidarity is often overlooked. I argue that the interest of the state in maintaining social solidarity must be weighed separately from its interests in self-sufficiency and democracy. I suggest guidelines for assessing the effect that granting or rejecting a particular request for exemption may have on social solidarity. These guidelines include examining whether the exemption is requested by an individual or by a group, the scope of the exemption, and the nature of the educational material that the exemption covers.
The Right to Religious Freedom, with Particular Reference to Same-Sex Marriage
Authors: Perry Michael J.
Published: November 2012

In this essay, I elaborate and defend the internationally recognized human right to religious freedom. I then pursue the implications of the right for government’s exclusion of same-sex couples from of civil marriage.
Germany v Italy: The Triumph of Sovereign Immunity over Human Rights Law
Authors: Bakircioglu Onder
Published: November 2012

This article analyses the doctrine of State immunity within the context of the recent judgment of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) concerning the Jurisdictional Immunities of the State (Germany v Italy: Greece intervening). The object of this article is to explore the implications of the State immunity from foreign judicial proceedings in cases of jus cogens crimes. Challenging the assumption that the law of immunity is merely procedural in nature, this article argues that there can be no immunity in cases of undisputed international crimes.
Recent Developments in the African Human Rights System 2011/12
Authors: Bekker Gina
Published: November 2012

A number of important developments have taken place in the African regional human rights system. This article surveys some of the key developments with respect to human rights within the African Union covering the period from 1 January 2011 to 31 January 2012. Consideration in this regard is given to a number of matters including the extension of the jurisdiction of the African Court of Justice and Human Rights to try international crimes, the issue of lack of individual access to the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights as well as the promotional and protectional work of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the African Committee on the Rights and Welfare of the Child.
Recent Developments
Authors: Mariniello Triestino
Published: November 2012

On 14 March 2012, the Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (ICC) delivered its first judgment in the first completed trial in the case against Thomas Lubanga Dyilo. Lubanga was found guilty as a co-perpetrator in the conscription and enlistment of children under the age of fifteen years and of using them to participate actively in hostilities. This article comments on the significance of the ICC judgment in the Lubanga case. It argues that the judgment contributes to the development and improvement of the normative value of international criminal law. It is also argued that the Lubanga judgment may offer interesting insights on the socio-pedagogical role of international criminal justice. Indeed, it is observed that it contributes to strengthening the sense of accountability for recruiting and using child soldiers, by stigmatising such acts as contrary to the fundamental values of the international community.
Roles of dopaminergic innervation of nucleus accumbens shell and dorsolateral caudate-putamen in cue-induced morphine seeking after prolonged abstinence and the underlying D1- and D2-like receptor mechanisms in rats
Authors: Gao Jun , Li Yonghui , Zhu Ning , Brimijoin Stephen , Sui Nan
Published: November 2012

Drug-associated cues can elicit relapse to drug seeking after abstinence. Studies with extinction–reinstatement models implicate dopamine (DA) in the nucleus accumbens shell (NAshell) and dorsolateral caudate-putamen (dlCPu) in cocaine seeking. However, less is known about their roles in cue-induced opiate seeking after prolonged abstinence. Using a morphine self-administration and abstinence–relapse model, we explored the roles of NAshell and dlCPu DA and the D1/D2-like receptor mechanisms underlying morphine rewarding and/or seeking. Acquisition of morphine self-administration was examined following 6-Hydroxydopamine hydrobromide (6-OHDA) lesions of the NAshell and dlCPu. For morphine seeking, rats underwent 3 weeks’ morphine self-administration followed by 3 weeks’ abstinence from morphine and the training environment. Prior to testing, 6-OHDA, D1 antagonist SCH23390, or D2 antagonist eticlopride was locally injected; then rats were exposed to morphine-associated contextual and discrete cues. Results show that acquisition of morphine self-administration was inhibited by NAshell (not dlCPu) lesions, while morphine seeking was attenuated by lesions of either region, by D1 (not D2) receptor blockade in NAshell, or by blockade of either D1 or D2 receptors in dlCPu. These data indicate a critical role of dopaminergic transmission in the NAshell (via D1-like receptors) and dlCPu (via D1- and D2-like receptors) in morphine seeking after prolonged abstinence.
Treatment of refractory obstetric antiphospholipid syndrome: the state of the art and new trends in the therapeutic management
Authors: Alijotas-Reig J
Published: November 2012

Objective

To date, there are no reliable data regarding the actual treatment received by women with refractory obstetric antiphospholipid syndrome (OAPS). The aim of this study was to assess current clinical evidence and new trends in the treatment of refractory OAPS.

Methods

A non-systematic but comprehensive literature search using relevant keywords was made to identify relevant articles published in English from different computerized databases: PubMed (Medline), Google Scholar electronic database search and The Cochrane Library, from January 2000 to March 2012. Studies on the treatment of poor obstetric outcomes in women with OAPS were included. Prospective randomized clinical trials, cohort studies, reviews, systematic reviews and meta-analysis were retrieved.

Results

A total of 130 articles were finally selected for this review, including 17 randomized clinical trials and four meta-analyses. The majority of articles were non-randomized original papers and basic and clinical reviews.

Conclusion

Up to 20% of women with OAPS do not receive the currently recommended therapeutic regimen. Unfortunately, well-designed studies regarding the usefulness of new drugs in refractory OAPS are scarce. Hydroxychloroquine and low-dose prednisolone appear to be useful when added to standard therapy. Current data do not support the use of intravenous immunoglobulins in this field. The role played by double anti-aggregant therapy, fondaparinux, vitamin D, pentoxifylline and TNF-targeted therapies should be tested in well-designed studies.
Mother India in Six Voices: Melodrama, Voice Performance, and Indian Films in Siam
Authors: Ingawanij May Adadol
Published: November 2012

The most successful period of circulation of Indian movies in Siam (Thailand) was from the 1950s to the 1970s. Vernacularizing them meant, in this case, transforming them into melodramatic cinema experience through the “versioning” art of the film narrators or voice performers. This article traces the enmeshment of popular Indian films within a local, plebeian cinema dispositive, in which film exhibition was subsumed under the paradigm of the oral and improvisatory theatrical entertainment. What became “melodramatic” about Indian (largely Hindi) movies as a result of their metamorphosis within this particular arrangement of technology, voice, text and bodies is the first question to address. The second is what it means now to redeem an experience of affective intensity occasioned by the circulation of Indian movies in Siam during the Cold War.
Serum free light-chain assay for the detection and monitoring of multiple myeloma and related conditions
Authors: Tosi Patrizia , Tomassetti Simona , Merli Anna , Polli Valentina
Published: November 2012

Diagnosis and monitoring of multiple myeloma (MM) and related conditions are usually carried out by means of serum and urine protein electrophoresis and immunofixation. In the early 2000s, an assay aimed at evaluating serum free light chains (sFLCs) was made available and subsequently tested in different plasma cell disorders. Several reports have demonstrated the usefulness of the assay for the diagnosis and monitoring of oligosecretory MM, nonsecretory MM, Bence Jones MM, and amyloid light-chain amyloidosis. Furthermore, a prognostic role for an abnormal sFLC κ/λ ratio has been observed in the case of monoclonal gammopathy of unknown significance, smoldering MM, solitary plasmacytomas, and in newly diagnosed symptomatic MM secreting intact monoclonal immunoglobulins. In conclusion, according to present data, the sFLC assay can be considered reliable for the diagnosis, monitoring, and prognosis of different plasma cell disorders, and recently studies have been carried out to test a possible role of an sFLC evaluation in other B-cell lymphoproliferative malignancies.
SOX4 enables oncogenic survival signals in acute lymphoblastic leukemia
Authors: Ramezani-Rad Parham , Geng Huimin , Hurtz Christian , Chan Lai N. , Chen Zhengshan , Jumaa Hassan , Melnick Ari , Paietta Elisabeth , Carroll William L. , Willman Cheryl L. , Lefebvre Véronique , Müschen Markus
Published: November 2012

The Sox4 transcription factor mediates early B-cell differentiation. Compared with normal pre-B cells, SOX4 promoter regions in Ph+ ALL cells are significantly hypomethylated. Loss and gain-of-function experiments identified Sox4 as a critical activator of PI3K/AKT and MAPK signaling in ALL cells. ChIP experiments confirmed that SOX4 binds to and transcriptionally activates promoters of multiple components within the PI3K/AKT and MAPK signaling pathways. Cre-mediated deletion of Sox4 had little effect on normal pre-B cells but compromised proliferation and viability of leukemia cells, which was rescued by BCL2L1 and constitutively active AKT and p110 PI3K. Consistent with these findings, high levels of SOX4 expression in ALL cells at the time of diagnosis predicted poor outcome in a pediatric clinical trial (COG P9906). Collectively, these studies identify SOX4 as a central mediator of oncogenic PI3K/AKT and MAPK signaling in ALL.
The C-terminus of CBFβ-SMMHC is required to induce embryonic hematopoietic defects and leukemogenesis
Authors: Kamikubo Yasuhiko , Hyde R. Katherine , Zhao Ling , Alemu Lemlem , Rivas Cecilia , Garrett Lisa J. , Liu P. Paul
Published: November 2012

The C-terminus of CBFβ-SMMHC, the fusion protein produced by a chromosome 16 inversion in acute myeloid leukemia subtype M4Eo, contains domains for self-multimerization and transcriptional repression, both of which have been proposed to be important for leukemogenesis by CBFβ-SMMHC. To test the role of the fusion protein's C-terminus in vivo, we generated knock-in mice expressing a C-terminally truncated CBFβ-SMMHC (CBFβ-SMMHCΔC95). Embryos with a single copy of CBFβ-SMMHCΔC95 were viable and showed no defects in hematopoiesis, whereas embryos homozygous for the CBFβ-SMMHCΔC95 allele had hematopoietic defects and died in mid-gestation, similar to embryos with a single-copy of the full-length CBFβ-SMMHC. Importantly, unlike mice expressing full-length CBFβ-SMMHC, none of the mice expressing CBFβ-SMMHCΔC95 developed leukemia, even after treatment with a mutagen, although some of the older mice developed a nontransplantable myeloproliferative disease. Our data indicate that the CBFβ-SMMHC's C-terminus is essential to induce embryonic hematopoietic defects and leukemogenesis.
P2TF: a comprehensive resource for analysis of prokaryotic transcription factors
Authors: Ortet Philippe , De Luca Gilles , Whitworth David E , Barakat Mohamed
Published: November 2012

Background

Transcription factors (TFs) are DNA-binding proteins that regulate gene expression by activating or repressing transcription. Some have housekeeping roles, while others regulate the expression of specific genes in response to environmental change. The majority of TFs are multi-domain proteins, and they can be divided into families according to their domain organisation. There is a need for user-friendly, rigorous and consistent databases to allow researchers to overcome the inherent variability in annotation between genome sequences.

Description

P2TF (Predicted Prokaryotic Transcription Factors) is an integrated and comprehensive database relating to transcription factor proteins. The current version of the database contains 372,877 TFs from 1,987 completely sequenced prokaryotic genomes and 43 metagenomes. The database provides annotation, classification and visualisation of TF genes and their genetic context, providing researchers with a one-stop shop in which to investigate TFs. The P2TF database analyses TFs in both predicted proteomes and reconstituted ORFeomes, recovering approximately 3% more TF proteins than just screening predicted proteomes. Users are able to search the database with sequence or domain architecture queries, and resulting hits can be aligned to investigate evolutionary relationships and conservation of residues. To increase utility, all searches can be filtered by taxonomy, TF genes can be added to the P2TF cart, and gene lists can be exported for external analysis in a variety of formats.

Conclusions

P2TF is an open resource for biologists, allowing exploration of all TFs within prokaryotic genomes and metagenomes. The database enables a variety of analyses, and results are presented for user exploration as an interactive web interface, which provides different ways to access and download the data. The database is freely available athttp://www.p2tf.org/.
Isolation of Pediococcus acidilacticiKp10 with ability to secrete bacteriocin-like inhibitory substance from milk products for applications in food industry
Authors: Abbasiliasi Sahar , Tan Joo Shun , Ibrahim Tengku Azmi Tengku , Ramanan Ramakrishnan Nagasundara , Vakhshiteh Faezeh , Mustafa Shuhaimi , Ling Tau Chuan , Rahim Raha Abdul , Ariff Arbakariya B
Published: November 2012

Background

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) can be isolated from traditional milk products. LAB that secrete substances that inhibit pathogenic bacteria and are resistant to acid, bile, and pepsin but not vancomycin may have potential in food applications.

Results

LAB isolated from a range of traditional fermented products were screened for the production of bacteriocin-like inhibitory substances. A total of 222 LAB strains were isolated from fermented milk products in the form of fresh curds, dried curds, and ghara (a traditional flavor enhancer prepared from whey), and fermented cocoa bean. Eleven LAB isolates that produced antimicrobial substances were identified as Lactococcus lactis, Lactobacillus plantarum, and Pediococcus acidilactici strains by biochemical methods and 16S rDNA gene sequencing. Of these, the cell-free supernatant of Kp10 (P. acidilactici) most strongly inhibited Listeria monocytogenes. Further analysis identified the antimicrobial substance produced by Kp10 as proteinaceous in nature and active over a wide pH range. Kp10 (P. acidilactici) was found to be catalase-negative, able to produce β-galactosidase, resistant to bile salts (0.3%) and acidic conditions (pH 3), and susceptible to most antibiotics.

Conclusion

Traditionally prepared fermented milk products are good sources of LAB with characteristics suitable for industrial applications. The isolate Kp10 (P. acidilactici) shows potential for the production of probiotic and functional foods.
Prognostic value of admission heart rate in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction: Role of Type 2 diabetes mellitus
Authors: Han Zhang , Yan-min Yang , Jun Zhu , Li-sheng Liu , Hui-qiong Tan , Yao Liu
Published: November 2012

Background

It’s unknown whether the prognostic value of admission heart rate (HR) was different in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) with or without concomitant type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Methods

Consecutive STEMI patients who presented within 12 hours of symptom onset were recruited from 274 hospitals in China. Participants were stratified into quartiles by admission HR. Baseline characteristics, current therapeutic recommenda- tions, laboratory biochemical tests, 30-day all-cause mortality and Cardiovascular Events (CVE, including all-cause death, reinfarction and stroke) were compared across admission HR quartiles.

Results

We evaluated 7294 STEMI patients, of these 820 (11.2%) had known T2DM. The admission HR quartile stratification was significantly associated with all-cause mortality and CVE regardless of T2DM status (P < 0.001 both for survival and CVE). After adjusted other risk factors, in patients without T2DM, comparing with HR <66 b.p.m., the increase of HR level was associated with worse prognosis (P < 0.05). In patients with T2DM, the hazard ratios for 30-day CVE were 1.75 (95%CI), 1.92 (95%CI), 3.00 (95%CI) in the HR of 66–76 b.p.m., 77–88 b.p.m., and >88 b.p.m., respectively. Results were similar for 30-day all-cause mortality, but the hazard ratios in Q2 (P = 0.139 and P =0.086 for survival and CVE, respectively) and Q3 groups were non-significant (P = 0.072 and P =0.033 for survival and CVE, respectively). There was a significant interaction effect of HR and T2DM on 30-day CVE mortality (P = 0.035), which was not found on all-cause mortality (P = 0.126).

Conclusion

Admission heart rate was an important risk factor of 30-day all-cause mortality and CVE in patients with STEMI with or without T2DM. However, the predictive effect was modified by T2DM.
Spatial morphological and molecular differences within solid tumors may contribute to the failure of vascular disruptive agent treatments
Authors: Nguyen Linh , Fifis Theodora , Malcontenti-Wilson Caterina , Chan Lie Sam , Costa Patricia Nunes Luiza , Nikfarjam Mehrdad , Muralidharan Vijayaragavan , Christophi Christopher
Published: November 2012

Background

Treatment of solid tumors with vascular disrupting agent OXi4503 results in over 90% tumor destruction. However, a thin rim of viable cells persists in the tumor periphery following treatment, contributing to subsequent recurrence. This study investigates inherent differences in the microenvironment of the tumor periphery that contribute to treatment resistance.

Methods

Using a murine colorectal liver metastases model, spatial morphological and molecular differences within the periphery and the center of the tumor that may account for differences in resistance to OXi4503 treatment were investigated. H&E staining and immunostaining were used to examine vessel maturity and stability, hypoxia and HIF1α levels, accumulation of immune cells, expression of proangiogenic factors/receptors (VEGF, TGF-β, b-FGF, and AT1R) and expression of EMT markers (ZEB1, vimentin, E-cadherin and β-catenin) in the periphery and center of established tumors. The effects of OXi4503 on tumor vessels and cell kinetics were also investigated.

Results

Significant differences were found between tumor periphery and central regions, including association of the periphery with mature vessels, higher accumulation of immune cells, increased growth factor expression, minimal levels of hypoxia and increased evidence of EMT. OXi4503 treatment resulted in collapse of vessels in the tumor center; however vasculature in the periphery remained patent. Similarly, tumor apoptosis and proliferation were differentially modulated between centre and periphery after treatment.

Conclusions

The molecular and morphological differences between tumor periphery and center may account for the observed differential resistance to OXi4503 treatment and could provide targets for drug development to totally eliminate metastases.
Electrochemotherapy of cutaneous metastasis from breast cancer in elderly patients: a preliminary report
Authors: Benevento Raffaella , Santoriello Antonio , Perna Giuseppe , Canonico Silvestro
Published: November 2012

Background

The management of cutaneous metastases often represents a challenge because they may be widespread and may recur after radiotherapy or chemotherapy; breast cancer accounts for 51% of the total cases of cutaneous metastases. When surgical excision of chest wall recurrences is not possible and other local treatments such as radiotherapy or radiotherapy with hyperthermia fail, topical chemotherapy and electrochemotherapy (ECT) might be taken into account.

ECT is a new local treatment of solid tumors which can be defined as the local potentiation, by means of permeabilizing electric pulses, of the antitumor activity of a non permeating anticancer drug with high intrinsic cytotoxicity.

Methods

This prospective observational study took place throughout March 2010 to October 2011. Twelve consecutive elderly patients (1 man and 11 women, median age of 76 years) with regional or distant skin or subcutaneous metastases from breast cancer, with or without visceral disease, were included in the study. Patient enrollment was carried out according to the ESOPE criteria. Bleomycin administration was followed by the application of brief electric pulses to each tumor nodule within 8 min after intravenous infusion of the drug. Electric currents were delivered by means of a 2–3 cm long needle electrode according to lesion size. All treatments were performed using the CliniporatorTM device.

Results

We observed Complete Response(CR) in 75.3% (107 metastases), Partial Response(PR) in 17% (24 metastases), no change in 7.7% (11 metastases) . No serious ECT-related adverse events were reported; adverse events consisted of pain in the treated area one to two days after treatment (1 patient, 8.3%) and ulceration of treated area (1 patient, 8.3%).

Conclusion

ECT could be suggested as a primary local therapy in patients not suitable for surgical removal of the primary tumor, and clinicians should not hesitate to use it even in the elderly.