bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Analysis of the Hemagglutinin and Neuraminidase Genes of Human Influenza A/H3N2 Viruses Circulating in Iran between 2005 and 2007: Antigenic and Phylogenetic Relationships to Vaccine Strains
Authors: Yavarian J. , Mokhtari-Azad T. , Nadji S.A. , Zeraati H. , Naseri M.
Published: January 2010

Objectives: To study the antigenic variations in influenza A/H3N2 viruses circulating in Iran for characterization and phylogenetic relationships to vaccine strains. Methods: RT-PCR, full sequencing of hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) genes and analysis by sequence handling and phylogenetic programs were done. Results: The HA sequences of 2007 isolates fell within the clade represented by the HA of A/Brisbane/10/07 and characterized by the amino acid changes relative to the HA of A/Wisconsin/67/05, G50E and K140I. The only isolate in 2006 fell within A/Berlin/02/06 with V112I and K173E changes. The 2005 isolates characterized by Y159F, S189N and S227P changes within A/California/07/04. In all isolates we had E190D which is important because this was responsible for the loss of ability of A/H3N2 viruses to bind to chicken red blood cells. There were some substitutions in the antigenic sites of the HA. Similar to other studies, conserved residues for catalytic sites and also framework sites of NA supporting the catalytic residues were detected. We had some changes in the variable regions of the NA head domain. Conclusion: Comparison between Iranian viruses and vaccine strains showed high similarity between them and vaccine strains used in the northern hemisphere.
Conditional Silencing of the Escherichia coli pykF Gene Results from Artificial Convergent Transcription Protected from Rho-Dependent Termination
Authors: Krylov Alexander A. , Airich Larisa G. , Kiseleva Evgeniya M. , Minaeva Natalia I. , Biryukova Irina V. , Mashko Sergey V.
Published: January 2010

PykF is one of two pyruvate kinases in Escherichia coli K-12. λPL was convergently integrated into the chromosome of the MG1655 strain, downstream of pykF, face-to-face with its native promoter. In the presence of λcIts857, efficient pykF ts-silencing was achieved when the 5′-terminus of the PL-originated antisense RNA (asRNA), consisting of the rrnG-AT sequence, converted elongation complexes of RNA polymerase to a form resistant to Rho-dependent transcription termination. pykF silencing was detected by the following features: (a) impaired growth of the strain when pykA was also disrupted and when using ribose as a non-phosphotransferase system-transporting carbon source; (b) a pattern of reduced synthesis of the full-sized pykF mRNA, mediated by reverse transcription PCR, and (c) a significant decrease in PykF activity. The advantages of anti-terminated convergent transcription were clearly manifested in the strains where the rho_a-terminator was inserted specifically to interrupt asRNA synthesis. Most likely, the target gene was silenced by transcriptional interference due to collisions between converging RNA polymerases, although, strictly, the role of cis-asRNA effects could not be excluded. While details of the mechanisms have yet to be determined, anti-terminated convergent transcription is a promising new technique for silencing other target genes.
Involvement of Alpha-Klotho and Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptor in the Development of Secondary Hyperparathyroidism
Authors: Kumata Chiaki , Mizobuchi Masahide , Ogata Hiroaki , Koiwa Fumihiko , Nakazawa Ai , Kondo Fumiko , Kadokura Yoshiyuki , Kinugasa Eriko , Akizawa Tadao
Published: January 2010

Background/Aims: Fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) has been shown to suppress parathyroid hormone (PTH) secretion. α-Klotho has been demonstrated to function as a fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) cofactor for FGF23. Thus, both α-Klotho and FGFR may play roles in PTH synthesis and/or secretion. Functions of α-Klotho and FGFR in secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT) remain to be studied. The present studies explore the role of α-Klotho and FGFR in SHPT. Methods: Hyperplastic parathyroid glands (n = 44) were obtained from patients with SHPT. Results: Immunohistochemical study showed that both α-Klotho and FGFR1c expression in hyperplastic glands was significantly decreased compared with that in normal glands (Klotho p < 0.01, and FGFR1c p < 0.05). A significant positive correlation was observed between α-Klotho and FGFR1c (r2 = 0.375, p < 0.01) indicating a cooperative system. Both α-Klotho (r2 = 0.235, p < 0.05) and FGFR1c (r2 = 0.181, p < 0.05) correlated positively with the calcium-sensing receptor (CaR), which plays an important role in the development of SHPT. In addition, expression of α-Klotho correlated negatively with parathyroid cell proliferation, as confirmed by Ki67 staining (r2 = 0.148, p < 0.05). Conclusion: Decreased expression of α-Klotho and FGFR1c in parallel with CaR expression and parathyroid cell growth may be involved in the pathogenesis of SHPT.
Indikation und Technik eines modifizierten Verfahrens der plastischen Wiederherstellung der Stimme bei totaler Laryngektomie nach Asai
Authors: Minnigerode B.
Published: January 2010

In 1966 Asai described an operation method for the restoration of the voice, following a total laryngectomy, by means of a plastic construction of a prepharyngeal air passage between trachea and oral cavity. With regard to my own experiences made in 7 cases, a thorough investigation of the indication is postulated. The indication for the operation is described in detail and, at the same time, a simplifying modification of the procedure after the approved pharynx plasty by Gluck and Soerensen is presented. The disadvantages of this method (necessity of permanent use of cannulae, possibility of saliva and food particles entering into the lower air passages, the relatively long interval between the treatment of the main disease and the ray therapy which usually is necessary later) should save us from transforming a possibility beneficial in appropriate cases into a rule which, in other cases, is contrary to the basic principles of the treatment of carcinoma.
Considérations sur les résultats de I’examen anatomo-pathologique systématique des amygdales opérées au cours des 16 dernières années à la clinique universitaire d’oto-rhino-laryngologie de Genève
Authors: Nicoucar R. , Schrago R.
Published: January 2010

The anatomo-pathological study of the tonsils of 5,840 operated cases of chronic tonsillitis revealed: 5,807 cases (99.3%) of chronic tonsillitis of which 253 cases (43.5‰) with acute infection and 160 cases (27.5‰) with cartilaginous or bone metaplasia; 24 cases (4.1‰) with tuberculous tonsillitis. This percentage diminishes in parallel with the reduction of bovine tuberculosis; 4 cases of malignant affections of the tonsils which could not otherwise be diagnosed and treated in time except by systematic histological studies.
Die Versenkung des Nasenrückens
Authors: Baud Ch.
Published: January 2010

A new operative procedure for reducing the excessively high bridge of the nose, not by planing it down but by lowering it throughout its entire length, is described. Essential prerequisites are (1) Wegener’s basal osteotomy, which consists in removing the superior branch of the maxilla; (2) division of the nasofrontal suture; (3) longitudinal incision of the septum, parallel to the bridge of the nose; and (4) duplication of the septum. This procedure protects the cosmetically important bridge itself and avoids the drawbacks of Joseph’s kyphectomy. It is especially recommended when the whole bridge of the nose is too high. The results of the operation are presented in the form of photographs of patients.Nach dem Erscheinen meiner Monographie «Harmonie der Gesichtszüge» [1] wurde ich wiederholt gefragt, wie ich zu diesem oder jenem Resultat gekommen sei. Diesem Wunsche, die Operationstechnik zu veröffentlichen, will ich gerne nachkommen, in der Hoffnung, daβ meine Technik nun langsam spruchreif geworden ist. Heute freue ich mich, Ihnen mit der Behandlung der hypertrophischen Nase etwas Neues zu zeigen.
A Case of Ceruminoma (Adenoma ceruminalis) of the Middle Ear
Authors: Lindqvist S. , Bergstedt M.
Published: January 2010

This report pertains to a case of ceruminoma of the middle ear, in which the treatment and microscopical picture of the tumour are accounted for. To judge from the relevant literature, there seems to be some uncertainty as to the nature of ceruminomata. In some instances this uncertainty is the result of inadequate histopathological examination, but also of the tendency of the tumour to relapse and even metastasize, which contrasts with the seemingly benign histological picture. The number of reported cases of ceruminoma is not great. Thus, in order to clarify the pathogenesis of ceruminal tumours, additional reports based on thorough clinicopathological examinations, would seem to serve a useful purpose.
Conjunctival and Nailbed Biomicroscopy in Atrophic Ozenatous Rhinopathy
Authors: Rosen Z. , Davis E.
Published: January 2010

On the basis of the hypothesis that vascular pathology is of etiological importance in ozena, the microcirculation of 127 persons, with and without nasal diseases, was investigated by biomicroscopy of the conjunctiva and the nailbed. Ischemia and the pattern described in acrocyanosis were common features found in primary atrophic rhinitis and ozena. There was good correlation between the severity of the vascular pathology and the degree of nasal atrophy.
L’insuffisance vertébro-basilaire et le nystagmus d’origine cervicale en pratique journalière
Authors: Secrétan J.-P.
Published: January 2010

Although its pathogeny is still debated, the posterior cervical syndrome of Barré-Liéou is today well defined in the clinic. The illness has grown in importance these last years following the multiplication of cases of traumatic origin (whiplash injury). The vertiginous symptoms are, however, often hard to prove, the vestibular examination being often normal and seldom typical. GREINER et al. [1969] have recently described a very simple method to detect a cervical etiology by giddiness. It consists in investigation of the neck torsion nystagmus. The author has examined 50 cases by this method; in 27 cases there was no torsion nystagmus, 23 times it was clearly established and thus ensured and led to therapeutic treatment. The test seems to be most useful in the daily practice.
Rhinological Studies on Cystic Fibrosis
Authors: Crifò S. , Antonelli M. , Donfrancesco A.
Published: January 2010

Results of clinical, morphological and biochemical studies of the nasal mucosa in 16 fibrocystic children are reported. On the basis of clinical examination and the histopathological picture, alterations of nasal mucosa fell into three degrees: normal or mild catarrhal involvement (grade 1); vasomotor or edematous rhino-pathy (grade II); rhinosinusal polyposis (grade III). Biochemical data revealed in nasal secretion an increase in Na+ and Cl- comparable to that in the sweat, confirming the systemic nature of the electrolytic unbalance present in cystic fibrosis. An increased protein content in nasal secretions was also observed correlated with ultra-structural aspects of higher proteic synthesis. Possible pathogenic factors of frequent rhinosinusal involvement in CF are discussed.
The Vulnerability of the Heart As a Pluricellular Paracrine Organ
Authors: De Keulenaer Gilles W. , Doggen Kris , Lemmens Katrien
Published: January 2010

Abstract
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In this review, we address clinical aspects and mechanisms of ventricular dysfunction induced by anticancer drugs targeted to the ErbB2 receptor. ErbB2 antagonists prolong survival in cancer, but also interfere with homeostatic processes in the heart. ErbB2 is a coreceptor for ErbB4, which is activated by neuregulin-1. This epidermal growth factor–like growth factor is released from endothelial cells in the endocardium and in the myocardial microcirculation, hence contributing to intercellular crosstalk in the ventricle. We look at the physiological aspects of neuregulin-1/ErbB signaling in the ventricle, and review its (mal)adaptive responses in chronic heart failure. We also compare structural aspects of ErbB receptor activation in cancer and cardiac cells, and analyze the mode of action of current ErbB2 antagonists. This allows us to predict how these drugs interfere with paracrine processes in the ventricle. Differences in the mode of action of individual ErbB2 antagonists affect their impact on the function of the ventricle, considered to be “on-target” or “off-target.” Establishing the relation between the cardiac side effects of ErbB2 antagonists and their impact on paracrine ventricular control mechanisms may direct the design of a next generation of ErbB2 inhibitors. For cardiologists, there are lessons to be learned from the unexpected side effects of ErbB2-targeted cancer therapy. The vulnerability of the heart as a pluricellular paracrine system appears greater than anticipated and intercellular crosstalk an essential component of its functional and structural integrity.
History, historiography and Christian origins
Authors: Martin Luther H.
Published: January 2010

The study of Christian origins should in no way differ from the study of anything past and, yet, historical studies of Christianity continue to "privilege" the data with imagined origins. In contrast to such imaginative fictions, critical historiography is based on human events presumed actually to have occurred. The productions of and, consequently, the explanations for such data instantiate both the material and the mental environments of human beings. Whereas the common constraints of biology are clear and those of cognition are increasingly so (although both are traditionally discounted in accounts of Christian beginnings), historically valid theories of socio-cultural contingencies remain contested, as does the relationship between these three domains. Since the earliest historical evidence for "Christian" groups is socio-cultural, i.e., textual, might these texts be better understood historically as themselves positive data for a plurality of Christian social formations rather than as historiographical documents containing positivistic data about Christian origins? In this way, it is possible to access real activities of real human beings in the past in their actual relationships.
The challenge of present-day Palestine to contemporary theology
Authors: Abdul-Masih Marguerite T.
Published: January 2010

This article is an attempt to outline in a rudimentary fashion the challenges that the plight of the inhabitants of present-day Palestine pose to contemporary theology. The method 1 followed in this article is a hermeneutical method of critical correlation where the situation of Palestinians raises questions about our theological method and formulation. In turn, the situation of Palestine is critiqued by our theological ideals.
Same-sex relationships, religious traditions, marriage and the law
Authors: Young Pamela Dickey
Published: January 2010

This article reviews the historical relationship of religious institutions to the performance of marriage ceremonies. It looks at what various religious traditions say officially about homosexuality and about same-sex relationships. It also considers how gay and lesbian couples have negotiated their places, especially in terms of same-sex ceremonies of commitment, within religious traditions which have offered varying degrees and kinds of affirmation. The author goes on to argue that there will be a variety of religious views concerning the legalization of same-sex relationships as marriages or marriage-like relationships. Religious institutions are not now obliged to marry all those who can be legally married, so the objections that arise within religious institutions should be handled as matters of policy within those religious institutions rather than as grounds for denying the legal right to marriage to gay and lesbian couples. The author further argues that all marriage as a legal entity should rest in the hands of the state, and that churches should bless relationships rather continue to be involved in legalizing marriages.
Laïcité et droit à la liberté religieuse
Authors: Siegwalt Gérard
Published: January 2010

Cet article explore le sens du droit à la liberté religieuse dans une société démocratique dont la laïcité est le Credo en matière religieuse. Il montre comment cette laïcité vit aujourd'hui son épreuve de vérité dans son impuissance à donner sens. Dans la conscience de cette limite, elle se tourne vers l'éthique pour donner un contenu positif à son Credo. Elle renvoie donc à des valeurs et indique par là qu'elle n'a pas en elle-même ses fondements. L'éthique dont il est ici question est un aspect du spirituel (son implication pratique) qui fonde dans un absolu (i.e. qu'elle ne va pas sans référence dernière, spirituelle). La laïcité donc a un fondement spirituel ou elle est vide. Cette réalité du spirituel comme dimension dernière de la réalité est ce qui justifie et motive le droit à la liberté puisqu'elle est le lieu par excellence de cette liberté. Sera-t-elle cependant capable de le faire sans engager un combat contre tout ce qui, en elle et en dehors d'elle, tend à la pervertir?
Le Christ, relève de la Loi (Romains 10,4) : La possibilité d'une éthique messianique à la suite de Giorgio Agamben
Authors: Müller Denis
Published: January 2010

La manière dont le philosophe Giorgio Agamben interprète la pensée de l'apôtre Paul au sujet de la fin de la Loi (Romains 10,4) est une contribution exemplaire au débat contemporain sur les liens entre le messianique, la modernité et l'universalisme, tel qu'il est notamment présent chez Derrida et Badiou; en même temps, Agamben renouvelle notre compréhension théologique et éthique du Christ comme relève (Aufhebung) de la Loi, dans la mesure où la force messianique de l'Évangile subvertit l'histoire réelle en y introduisant ce qu'on pourrait appeler de l'instabilité normative.
Development of the God-image in Carl Jung's psychology and spirituality
Authors: Gollnick James
Published: January 2010

This article considers the role of the God-image in Carl Jung's théories of religion, psychotherapy and human development. Jung views the God-image as a fundamental aspect of the human psyche and closely connected to the development of the self. In this regard he describes the individuation process as the progressive incarnation of the divine. His reflections on broadening the Christian God-image to include the feminine, matter and the shadow deal with the problem of psychological opposites with crucial implications for the goals of psychotherapy and psychological development.
Exhibiting the sacred: Material objects, religious history, and the Canadian Museum of Civilization
Authors: Opp James
Published: January 2010

To commemorate the Christian bimillennium, the Canadian Museum of Civilization opened an exhibit entitled Under the Sign of the Cross: Creative Expressions of Christianity in Canada. Although one of the goals of the display was to illustrate the "impact" of Christianity on Canada, the exhibit was noticeably lacking historical context. This article explores the curatorial principles that guided the planning and execution of the exhibit. It argues that the lack of attention to an historical narrative was directly related to assumptions underlying the collection of material objects of religion and an attempt to redeem a "sacred" status for the artefacts on display. Unfortunately, this loss of context also meant that many of the original multiple meanings embodied by these material objects of religion were also lost.
Sujet, genre, corps et temps : La fiction féminine de Jean de la Croix et la construction discursive du sujet genré
Authors: Roussel Jean-François
Published: January 2010

Le Cantique spirituel et La vive flamme d'amour, de Jean de la Croix, sont lus ici comme exemples de construction discursive d'un genre féminin par un sujet masculin. L'objectif est de mesurer les caractéristiques et les limites d'une conception du genre comme performance (Butler) ou comme combinatoire (Probyn), conception courante en études des genres et qui postule un écart entre le sexe (naturel) et le genre (culturel et politique). Tout comme l'anthropologie sous-jacente aux deux poèmes de Jean de la Croix fait de « l'âme » le seul support du sujet, une approche post-structuraliste en études des genres peut renforcer un oubli du corps, surtout si elle est pratiquée par des hommes. L'auteur propose à cet égard un concept de corps comme sédimentation, qui prend en compte l'extension corporelle du sujet et de ses transformations.
Droits des femmes et religions : Analyse de quelques discours islamiques et catholiques
Authors: Couture Denise
Published: January 2010

La problématique des rapports entre les droits des femmes et les religions s'est amplifiée au cours des années 1990. Organisée par les Nations Unies en 1995, la Quatrième Conférence mondiale sur les femmes de Beijing est reconnue comme l'un des lieux d'apparition de discours religieux sur les femmes sur la scène mondiale. Cet article présente une analyse des discours religieux prononcés à cette Conférence et de leurs incidences sur une compréhension des droits des femmes. Un nombre d'États appartenant aux familles islamique et catholique ont défendu l'autorité du religieux pour fonder une vision de la condition des femmes dans le monde et ils ont limité la liberté d'action des femmes dans le domaine de la santé génésique et sexuelle. De là, le débat s'est articulé autour de la priorité à donner aux droits universels des femmes ou aux particularismes culturels et religieux.
Engendering mediumship: When youths performed the rain dances in Han dynasty China
Authors: Marshall Alison R.
Published: January 2010

Sumary: Historically, mediumship has provided significant social and religious opportunities for women in China, allowing them to have roles beyond those traditional ones at court and in the inner chambers as daughters, mothers, wives, concubines, servants and singing girls. Women performed as rain dancers in the great rituals to summon or to end the rain and also acted as healers, exorcists, diviners and counselors, among other things. However, religious ideas that developed and became popular during the Han dynasty (206-220 C.E.) placed restrictions on gender roles, introducing hierarchies of importance and power in which women as yin were often perceived to be inferior to men who were yang. As this paper explains, the engendering of mediumship enabled youths gradually to replace women in the rain dances and at court.
Le Livre druze, entre corps et narration
Authors: Armanet Eléonore
Published: January 2010

Une conception originale de l'Écrit sacré et du divin marque le rapport des Druzes à leur Livre saint, reflet de l'orientation matricentrée de leur culture : présent dans chaque foyer druze, le Livre de la Sagesse (kitâb al-Hikma) est d'abord corporéité à emmailloter et abriter, avant que d'être écrit à lire et dire. Unique écrit sacré révéré par la communauté, il revêt les traits d'une théophanie sensorielle. Dans cet article, centré sur les soins d'enveloppement et la révérencieuse liturgie corporelle générés autour du Livre saint, nous décrivons d'abord l'Ouvrage des Druzes comme un objet éminemment féminin — maternel. Puis, nous appréhendons son Texte comme une parole génésique adressée à l'intime des sens, et traitée à l'instar du nouveau-né. Nous expliquons enfin que ce Texte se situe à la lisière de la parole ordinaire.
Demons and the battle for souls at Cluny
Authors: Hoenicke Moore Michael E.
Published: January 2010

The liturgical program at Cluny was directed toward a struggle against demons. Demons attacked souls in this world by bringing plague and violence, and in the next world, by punishing sinful souls. This article discusses how concern about such demons drew upon an ancient tradition regarding the pervasive influence of demons. The monks at Cluny sought to end this demonic tyranny. The battle for souls at Cluny reached a highpoint with the introduction of the Feast of All Souls' Day between 1024 and 1033 by the powerful Abbot Odilo.
The otherworld and the here and now: An introduction to religious themes in Chris Arthur's essays
Authors: Howard Mairtín
Published: January 2010

This article examines religious themes in the work of Irish essayist Chris Arthur. Robert Welch's analysis of the religious instinct, which he sees as a continuous awareness of the otherworld that acts to sharpen our sense of the here and now, is used to bring a key feature of Arthur's writing into focus. Underlying the article is the view that if religious studies wishes to avoid confining its attention to simplistic abstractions that have little do with actual forms of contemporary religious expression, it must be open to the existence of religiousness outside the formal confines of a few particular faiths. In exploring such religiousness it needs to deploy a variety of interpretative strategies rather than rely on any single mode of procedure.
Naming religious groups in the late Roman empire
Authors: de Bruyn Theodore S.
Published: January 2010

What are scientifically valid and interpretatively meaningful names for adherents of religious cults or traditions in the Mediterranean world of late antiquity? This question lies behind the articles in this issue of Studies in Religion / Sciences Religieuses, which consider the meaning and validity of five names used in studies of religion in the late Roman empire: "pagans," "Jews," "Christians," "Gnostics" and "Manichaeans." This paper, an introductory essay to the issue, proposes that, when answering this question, one adopt Benson Saler's prototype approach to the categorization of religious groups. It argues, further, that a prototype approach must include etic categories of analysis and that it requires specific and detailed studies of similarities and differences within and between groups.
Reading Philippians: Strategies for unfolding a story
Authors: Richards William
Published: January 2010

Identifying different parts of the présent text of Philippians as separate letters takes the task of epistolary analysis beyond simple form criticism into the realm of narratology, for any conclusions about the composite nature of a text imply reconstructing a story of how the relationship between sender and recipient was unfolding. Using work on the discourse of epistolary novels, this study moves from a formal study of epistolary units in Philippians to examining how any compositional hypothesis (including a reading "as is") implies a more or less adequate strategy for appreciating the story of a Ist-century Macedonian community's friendship with the Christian traveler Paul.
Hétéronomie et démocratie
Authors: Couture Yves
Published: January 2010

L'œuvre de Marcel Gauchet constitue un des plus remarquables efforts contemporains de compréhension systématique du fait religieux. Au croisement de plusieurs disciplines, elle gagne toutefois à être lue dans la continuité de la philosophie politique, qui a toujours vu la religion comme un objet d'interrogation privilégié. Notre analyse développe cette intuition sur trois plans distincts. Il s'agit d'abord de voir comment Gauchet radicalise l'analyse du religieux développée par la pensée politique moderne. Nous confrontons notamment ici son approche avec celle de Tocqueville, dont Gauchet est à la fois l'héritier et le critique. Une deuxième partie montre comment son analyse historique et sociale s'appuie sur une réflexion fondamentale qui distingue la religion, comme forme historique, de son substrat anthropologique. Nous visons enfin à faire ressortir l'intérêt et les difficultés d'une telle distinction pour penser la modernité.
Temperance, temples and colonies: Reading the book of Haggai in Saskatoon
Authors: Mitchell Christine
Published: January 2010

In this paper, I situate myself as a reader reading from the former temperance colony of Saskatoon. Taking as my starting point John Kessler's heuristic device of a Persian-period "charter group" (2006), I ask how my situation in Saskatoon affects how I read the book of Haggai, and how my reading of Haggai affects my understanding of Saskatoon. I conclude with some remarks on the possibility of examining my readings typologically; that is, seeing my readings as "types" for Canadian scholars abroad and in Canada studying the texts and text-worlds of Persian-period Yehud.
What kind of Sceptic was Pascal?
Authors: Wills Bernard
Published: January 2010

Antony McKenna has argued that Pascal has been misunderstood as a "Christian Pyrrhonist" when he is in fact an Academic sceptic. He holds Pascal's scepticism to be a negative dogmatism and Christian Pyrrhonism to be a contradiction in terms and thus useless as a category of intellectual history. This essay argues that McKenna's reading of Pascal is unsustainable and that his assault on the notion of Christian Pyrrhonism is based on a mistaken conception of what constitutes "true" Pyrrhonism. In fact, it argues that McKenna's Pyrrhonism is actually a form of Academicism and that Pascal himself understood the difference between these ancient schools more accurately.
Paul et le chronotope de l'empire
Authors: Beaude Pierre-Marie
Published: January 2010

Cet article est centré sur l'esthétique paulinienne, alors que l'exégèse a généralement plus d'intérêt pour la rhétorique. Lesthétique commence par un intérêt pour l'espace-temps, deux catégories de l'esthétique transcendantale de Kant. M. Bakhtine les a reprises pour créer son concept de chronotope, très utile pour l'étude des caractéristiques des romans occidentaux. Avec l'aide de P. Ricoeur et d'autres chercheurs, je souligne les différents niveaux de l'espace-temps dans les lettres de Paul. À la différence de saint Luc, Paul ne lie pas le salut au grand récit de l'histoire gréco-romaine, mais il insiste sur l'abrogation du temps par l'eschatologie et sur le récit de sa propre histoire comme réceptacle du salut. Le récit des ancêtres d'Israël ne prend pas la place du récit gréco-romain, mais est mis, par réécriture, au service du kairos qu'il expérimenta à Damas.
Constructions modernes de la religion : l'exemple de Volney
Authors: Despland Michel
Published: January 2010

Trois oeuvres de Volney (1757-1820) présentent trois constructions de la religion. Son Voyage en Syrie et en Egypte ( 1787) présente l'Islam comme une institution aux effets purement négatifs, qui appuie le despotisme militaire des Turcs. Les Ruines (1791) imaginent un concile de tous les peuples où les chefs de toutes les religions érigent des obstacles au développement de la morale naturelle. Le Tableau du climat et du sol des États-Unis (1803) ouvre de nouvelles perspectives: grâce à des conversations avec un chef indien, Volney voit dans la religion des Amérindiens une composante de leur culture et la compréhension de la religion devient nécessaire à la compréhension du sort des Amérindiens défaits.
Le Logos: clef de l'ascension spirituelle dans l'ismaélisme
Authors: Steigerwald Diane
Published: January 2010

L'objectif de cet article est d'analyser les multiples facettes du Logos divin chez les Ismaéliens. Cette recherche couvre plusieurs traditions (mystique, gnànique et récente). Sans prétendre être exhaustive, elle met en relief les éléments de continuité dans la signification de ce concept à travers des époques et dans des contextes différents.
Globalization, New Internationalism and the Zapatistas
Authors: Angelis Massimo De
Published: January 2010

This article suggests that the driving force of today's new internationalism is not a common ideology, but needs and the practical necessities of different movements within the context of the global economy. The Zapatistas are one of the movements that most have explicitly and systematically voiced a vision of a different world developed from within the old. Therefore this article analyses its literature and investigates important insights about the conditions of struggle in today's world and about the constitutive processes that can be envisaged in these new practices.
What Kind of Theory is Marx's LabourTheoryof Value? A Critical Realist Inquiry
Authors: Fleetwood Steve
Published: January 2010

This paper uses critical realism to reflect upon the issue of theory in Marx's Labour Theory of Value (LTV). Like any theory, the LTV is rooted in a mode of theorisation. Rooting the LTV in an inappropriate ( deductivist) mode of theorisation encourages the formulation of ( quantitative) versions of the LTV that (a) have severe problems and (b) lack explanatory power. Conversely, rooting the LTV in an appropriate ( causal-explanatory) mode encourages the formulation of ( qualitative) versions of the LTV that (a) lack such problems and (b) have explanatory power.
Ian Craib, 1945-2002
Authors: McCulloch Andrew
Published: January 2010

A moving commemoration at the University of Essex on 7th March of Ian Craib, Professor of Sociology, began with an affectionate address by his son, Ben. Ian Craib died at the age of 57 years on 22nd December, 2002 from a massive heart-attack, induced by an inoperable cancer in his lungs. ‘Remembering Ian Craib’ lasted nearly three hours. This was not because of the string quartet playing favourite pieces of Ian's nor because of the past and present colleagues, both academic and administrative, who also paid him generous tribute. It was principally because of the students who queued up to praise and appreciate what one of them described as ‘the most inspiring teacher that I have ever known.’
Blinded by morality? Prostitution policy in the UK
Authors: Sanders Teela
Published: January 2010

This article reviews the content of and responses to the Home Office paper ‘Paying the Price: A Consultation on Prostitution’, published in July 2004. It suggests that the combination of a doctrine of anti-social behaviour, Victorian morality and a reliance on stereotypical images of women involved in prostitution ignores the complexities of the conditions of prostitution, the organisation of the sex industry, and any reference to a ‘sex work’ discourse that promotes labour rights and equal citizenship. An analysis of what is excluded from the consultation paper provides a forum in which to discuss the potential implications for the management of commercial sex.
The legal legacy of the miners' strike
Authors: Cavalier Stephen
Published: January 2010

This article explores the reaction of Parliament and the courts to the miners' strike, and looks at the impact on the laws affecting trade unions and workers.
A value-oriented distinction between productive and unproductive labour
Authors: Izquierdo Sergio Cámara
Published: January 2010

This paper offers a new ‘position’ in the distinction between productive and unproductive labour, using two opposing approaches to the matter. Shaikh and Tonak ground their argument on the concept of productive labour in general, and support the need for an ‘extensive’ classification of unproductive labour. In Laibman's view, on the other hand, the distinction should be abandoned. In this paper, I argue that both approaches are founded on the same use-value criterion. This non-capitalist criterion is inappropriate for the analysis. In contrast, I offer a distinction based on specifically capitalist criteria; the relevance of the analysis is placed on the production of value rather than use value.
A recipe for a cookshop of the future: G. D. H. Cole and the conundrum of sovereignty
Authors: Wyatt Chris
Published: January 2010

The concept of state sovereignty has, since Hobbes, been a highly contentious and much-debated issue. Marx's critique that institutional detachments obscure the modern state's embodiment in socioeconomic relations encapsulates the reason why sovereignty is not simply a political issue. This paper argues that the guild socialist theorist G. D. H. Cole completes Marx's analysis, effectively filling out Marx's critique of the liberal state as a mask behind which capitalist power thrives. In seeking to defend Cole from his critics, the paper shows that while Cole's scheme permits a sovereign body to exist, the manner in which its powers are exercised is constitutionally restricted. Such formal limitations successfully redefine the substance of sovereignty.
John Harrison, socialist teacher and writer
Authors: Glyn Andrew , Sutcliffe Bob
Published: January 2010

John Harrison, socialist economist, has died aged 57. A gifted teacher, he gave bold, lucid talks on political economy for non-economists during the Thatcher years, reaching an audience that would normally shun the dismal science and its dour practitioners.
Law, globalisation and the NHS
Authors: Harrington John A.
Published: January 2010

The regulation of medical work in the UK has been shaped by the post-war settlement, which lead to the creation of the National Health Service in 1948. The removal of clinical care from the market was supported over the following decades by prohibitions of the sale of human organs and gametes. That settlement is now being dismantled, with the increasing privatisation of NHS facilities. The recommodification of medicine in Britain is achieved as part of broader patterns of neoliberal globalisation. Cross-border markets in health services are realized in law through international (e.g. the General Agreement on Trade in Services) and regional trade law (e.g. European Community law).
Britain and Europe: Class, state and the politics of integration
Authors: Radice Hugo
Published: January 2010

This paper explores the way socialists have deployed Marxist theories in analysing European integration and Britain's participation in it. The first section shows how theories of the relationship between nation states and global capitalism opened up new perspectives on regional integration in Europe. The second section looks at later debates about ‘varieties of capitalism’, and argues that these debates have ignored the global constitution of capitalism and exaggerated the range of variation within it. The third section develops this point in relation to the possibility of challenging neoliberalism within the EU.
Europe and the ‘re-regulation of world society’: A critique of Habermas
Authors: Wilde Lawrence
Published: January 2010

Jürgen Habermas is one of a number of left-leaning social theorists who have talked enthusiastically about the prospects of the European Union becoming a socialmodel ‘alternative’ to global neoliberalism. This article supports his goal, but rejects his idea that a form of civic solidarity allegedly developed at national level should be expanded to the European sphere. A new European polity may play a progressive role, but only when social movements push it to implement social regulation against the resistance of international capital and its administrative elites.
The Europeanisation of left political parties: Limits to adaptation and consensus
Authors: Holmes Michael , Lightfoot Simon
Published: January 2010

The process of European integration impacts upon all parties of the left. This article focuses on how social-democratic, communist and green parties have responded to the challenge of Europeanisation. It shows that all parties engage extensively with the EU at a practical level, via elections, European parliamentary groups and European parties. There is also evidence of increasing policy adaptation and the adoption of more pro-European programmes, though this is not quite as extensive. However, ideological disputes over the nature of the EU as it is currently constructed and party competition have hindered the development of a broad left vision for the EU's future.
A critique of John Holloway's Change The World Without Taking Power
Authors: McNaughton Colm
Published: January 2010

John Holloway's Change the World Without Taking Power is an attempt to translate the Zapatista experience into Marxist categories—an undertaking fraught with many difficulties. This review interrogates the four key issues addressed by Holloway: the state, the nature of power, commodity fetishism and the meaning and relevance of revolution.

Born in Dublin and now living and working in Mexico City, John Holloway is one of a small group of intellectual—activists whose work emerges from and contributes to an autonomist reading of Marxism. Holloway's work within this milieu has largely been concerned with revitalising a Marxist comprehension of the state—that is, until January 1994, when the masked Zapatistas of Chiapas, Mexico, burst onto the global scene. After this, he became a commentator on the role and impact of the Zapatistas on the resistance to exclusive forms of globalisation. Indeed, his most recent work, Change The World Without Taking Power, is an attempt to translate the Zapatista experience into Marxist categories. Holloway is often criticised for focusing so heavily on the Zapatistas, but in his defence, they do seem to constitute a significant shift within the emancipatory imagination and, as such, their contribution warrants further scrutiny and reflection. In examining Holloway's contribution, I will address four key issues: the state, the nature of power, commodity fetishism and the meaning and relevance of revolution.
When unions merge: The making of the UCU
Authors: Carter Bob
Published: January 2010

The article examines the 2006 merger of the Association of University Teachers (AUT) and the National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education (NATFHE) to form the University and College Union (UCU). It focuses on the impact of the merger on the strategy and tactics adopted during the most significant pay dispute higher education has so far witnessed. In particular, it details internal relations within the dominant union in the dispute, the AUT, and suggests that these limited the effectiveness of mobilisation and go some way to explaining the outcome of the dispute.
Capital, Fractions of Capital and the State: ‘Neo-Marxist’ Analysis of the South African State
Authors: Clarke Simon
Published: January 2010

This paper examines what has been called the ‘neo-Marxist’ or, more unkindly, the ‘vulgar Poulantzian’, approach to the state. The typical feature of this approach is a formulation of the relation between capital and the state in terms of the struggle between ‘fractions of capital’ to establish the position of ‘hegemonic fraction’ within the ‘power bloc’. The state then represents the unity of capital in relation to the proletariat and the dominance of the hegemonic fraction in relation to the other fractions of capital. Research which is guided by this view of the state tends, therefore, to examine state activity in relation to the policies proposed by various political parties and pressure groups which are said to be the ‘representatives’ of particular fractions of capital. This examination is usually complemented by an account of the particular ‘interests’ of the fractions in play. The policy actually adopted by the state is then explained by reference to the supposed ‘hegemony’ of the fraction in whose interest the policy is said to be.

This paper aims to develop a critique of this ‘fractionalist’ approach to the state through a critique of its conceptions of class, of class fractions and of the state. It is argued that the ‘fractionalist’ approach is ‘overpoliticised’ in seeing the state as condensation of the social, at the same time as being ‘economistic’ in directly identifying the state with capital. The critique is developed with reference to the best ‘neo-Marxist’ work on the state that has blossomed in recent years, that on the South African state. It is hoped, however, that the critique will have a wider relevance.(1)
Socialist Economic Strategy: A reply to Donald Swartz
Authors: Hodgson Geoff
Published: January 2010

Donald Swartz's discussion of the Alternative Economic Strategy (Capital and Class 13) sets out to examine its strategic and political implications. In doing this he casts a critical eye on my pamphlet Socialist Economic Strategy which looks at the AES in a more positive light. Given that his arguments have a clear political dimension, and suggest that the AES is not politically viable in the terms that I set out in my pamphlet, I feel that an evaluation of his critique is warranted in this journal.
Militarism and socialist theory
Authors: MacKenzie Donald
Published: January 2010

This article argues that we should not explain militarism only economically, nor see it as having merely an ‘internal’ logic. The state and the international system of states are centrally important in militarism. We urgently need further work on militarism and gender, on militarism as culture and on the socialist use of armed forces.
Argentina
Authors: Munck Ronaldo
Published: January 2010

This article examines the high cost of the failure of the military face of capital - its disastrous and brutal pro-imperialist economic policies at home, its ‘anti-imperialist’ adventures overseas and the backlash to both. The author asks whether the civilian face of capital under the recently elected Radical Party will succeed any better, particularly in the first test of its ‘anti-imperialist’ foreign policy - not the Malvinas issue but the IMF.
Money makes the world go round
Authors: Evans Trevor
Published: January 2010

Trevor Evans offers a useful survey of the development of the current world financial structures. He particularly emphasises the international role of the dollar and the way in which this role has constrained domestic economic management in the us and other capitalist countries. This latter discussion then leads to a consideration of the generation and transmission of economic crisis.
The New Information Technologies: Is there an ‘alternative strategy’?
Authors: Negrine Ralph
Published: January 2010

The Conservative government has adopted a market-led and entertainment-led approach to the development of IT generally. It has privatised BT, established a competitor and has pursued a distinctive market philosophy towards the development of the new media. One of these media, cable systems, has attracted much interest because it contains within it the possibility of the creation of a so-called ‘national grid’, marrying communications and culture, business and entertainment in an intricate and complex way. But because all these developments have taken place in the private sector, the Left has been quick to criticise the government's approach and have pointed out the many consequences: in terms of employment, impact on culture, diminishing the public domain, reducing acountability and so on.

However, this article suggests that these critiques are by no means as complete as first appears since they themselves lack any coherent ‘alternative strategy’ that is ‘realistic’, plausible or meaningful. This, the article goes on to argue, will present a future socialist government with a serious problem. What will its own approach be and how much can it learn from these critiques?
Trade Unions and the Law. Papering over the cracks?
Authors: Hyman Richard
Published: January 2010

An anti-union stance has been a prominent feature of Thatcherism; unions have been labelled as undemocratic institutions blocking change and damaging the performance of the UK economy. This has led to a series of legislative measures to curb union power. Richard Hyman documents these changes in the law, places them in historical context, and examines the unions' responses. Discussing political realignments within the British labour movement during the 1980s, the author concludes that unions need to win back support by developing new modes of collective organisation and action as well as restoring a class content to their political and economic struggles.
USSR under Gorbachev: the first two years
Authors: Cox Terry
Published: January 2010

It is now a little more than two years since Mikhail Gorbachev became General Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party, and, since then, the constant theme in the news from the Soviet Union has been one of change. This has been reflected in the style of leadership, and in the slogans adopted by the new administration, such as ‘reconstruction’, ‘renewal’, and ‘acceleration’. There has also been much talk of new policy directions, but how significant have the changes really been, and what are their consequences for Soviet society?