bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Novel Oral mTORC1/2 Inhibitor TAK-228 Has Synergistic Antitumor Effects When Combined with Paclitaxel or PI3Kα Inhibitor TAK-117 in Preclinical Bladder Cancer Models
Authors: Hernández-Prat Anna , Rodriguez-Vida Alejo , Juanpere-Rodero Nuria , Arpi Oriol , Menéndez Silvia , Soria-Jiménez Luis , Martínez Alejandro , Iarchouk Natalia , Rojo Federico , Albanell Joan , Brake Rachael , Rovira Ana , Bellmunt Joaquim
Published: June 2019

Advanced bladder cancer is associated with a poor prognosis and limited treatment options. The PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway is frequently activated in this disease and can be a potential therapeutic target for treatment intervention. We studied the antitumor efficacy of a new targeted therapy, TAK-228 (oral mTORC1/2 inhibitor), in preclinical models of bladder cancer. We evaluated the effects of TAK-228 in combination with a PI3Kα inhibitor (TAK-117) or with chemotherapy (paclitaxel). We used six bladder cancer cell lines and in vivo xenografts models. TAK-228 strongly inhibited cell proliferation in vitro, and reduced tumor growth and angiogenesis in vivo. Three possible biomarkers of response to TAK-228 (basal levels of 4E-BP1, p-4E-BP1/4E-BP1 ratio, or eIF4E/4E-BP1 ratio) were identified. The combination of TAK-228 and TAK-117 had synergistic effects in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, TAK-228 demonstrated greater efficiency when combined with paclitaxel. TAK-228 also showed ex vivo activity in tumor tissue from patients with treatment-naïve bladder cancer. TAK-228 is a promising investigational agent that induces a strong effect on cell proliferation, tumor growth, and angiogenesis in bladder cancer models. High synergistic effects were observed with TAK-228 combined with a PI3K inhibitor or with chemotherapy. These results are currently being investigated in a clinic trial of TAK-228 plus paclitaxel in patients with metastatic bladder cancer (NCT03745911).

Implications:

Strong synergistic effects were observed when combining TAK-228 with TAK-117 (a PI3Kα inhibitor) or with paclitaxel chemotherapy. A phase II study at our institution is currently evaluating the efficacy of TAK-228 combined with paclitaxel in patients with metastatic bladder cancer.
Identification of Endogenous Adenomatous Polyposis Coli Interaction Partners and β-Catenin–Independent Targets by Proteomics
Authors: Popow Olesja , Paulo João A. , Tatham Michael H. , Volk Melanie S. , Rojas-Fernandez Alejandro , Loyer Nicolas , Newton Ian P. , Januschke Jens , Haigis Kevin M. , Näthke Inke
Published: June 2019

Adenomatous Polyposis Coli (APC) is the most frequently mutated gene in colorectal cancer. APC negatively regulates the Wnt signaling pathway by promoting the degradation of β-catenin, but the extent to which APC exerts Wnt/β-catenin–independent tumor-suppressive activity is unclear. To identify interaction partners and β-catenin–independent targets of endogenous, full-length APC, we applied label-free and multiplexed tandem mass tag-based mass spectrometry. Affinity enrichment-mass spectrometry identified more than 150 previously unidentified APC interaction partners. Moreover, our global proteomic analysis revealed that roughly half of the protein expression changes that occur in response to APC loss are independent of β-catenin. Combining these two analyses, we identified Misshapen-like kinase 1 (MINK1) as a putative substrate of an APC-containing destruction complex. We validated the interaction between endogenous MINK1 and APC and further confirmed the negative, and β-catenin–independent, regulation of MINK1 by APC. Increased Mink1/Msn levels were also observed in mouse intestinal tissue and Drosophila follicular cells expressing mutant Apc/APC when compared with wild-type tissue/cells. Collectively, our results highlight the extent and importance of Wnt-independent APC functions in epithelial biology and disease.

Implications:

The tumor-suppressive function of APC, the most frequently mutated gene in colorectal cancer, is mainly attributed to its role in β-catenin/Wnt signaling. Our study substantially expands the list of APC interaction partners and reveals that approximately half of the changes in the cellular proteome induced by loss of APC function are mediated by β-catenin–independent mechanisms.
CCR4 Blockade Depletes Regulatory T Cells and Prolongs Survival in a Canine Model of Bladder Cancer
Authors: Maeda Shingo , Murakami Kohei , Inoue Akiko , Yonezawa Tomohiro , Matsuki Naoaki
Published: June 2019

Regulatory T-cell (Treg) infiltration can be targeted as a cancer immunotherapy. Here, we describe therapeutic efficacy of this strategy in a canine model of bladder cancer. We used dogs with naturally occurring bladder cancer to study the molecular mechanism of Treg infiltration into bladder cancer tissues and the effect of anti-Treg treatment. Tumor-infiltrating Tregs were evaluated by immunohistochemistry, and their association with prognosis was examined in dogs with bladder cancer. The molecular mechanism of Treg infiltration was explored by RNA sequencing and protein analyses. Murine xenograft experiments and canine studies were used to explore the therapeutic potential of anti-Treg treatment for bladder cancer. We found that tumor-infiltrating Tregs were associated with poor prognosis in dogs bearing spontaneous bladder cancer. Treg infiltration was caused by interaction between the tumor-producing chemokine CCL17 and the receptor CCR4 expressed on Tregs. CCR4 blockade inhibited tumor growth and Treg infiltration into the tissues in a xenograft mouse model. Dogs with spontaneous bladder cancer responded to anti-CCR4 treatment with improved survival and low incidence of clinically relevant toxicities. In human patients with bladder cancer, immunohistochemistry showed that tumor-infiltrating Tregs expressed CCR4. Thus, anti-CCR4 treatment may be a rational approach to test in clinical trials for human patients with bladder cancer.
Hole Detection and Healing in Hybrid Wireless Sensor Network
Authors: Kalwaghe Samidha N. , Dusane Atul V.
Published: June 2019

The emerging technology of wireless sensor network (WSN) is expected to provide a broad range of applications, such as battlefield surveillance, environmental monitoring, smart spaces and so on. The coverage problem is a fundamental issue in WSN, which may cause due to low residual energy of nodes or poor installment. But in order to get full coverage of sensing area Coverage problem must be avoided. If the problem is unavoidable the coverage hole must be healed. Current hole healing algorithms uses complicated hole detection strategies like TENT rule.  This project seeks to address the problem of hole detection and healing in mobile WSNs by deploying mobile sensors in the network, which is called hybrid sensor network. An enhanced hole detection and healing method (MHEAL) is proposed. MHEAL is a distributed and localized algorithm that operates in two distinct phases. First, is Distributed Hole Detection (DHD) proposed to identify the boundary nodes and discover holes. Second, is hole healing which uses a virtual forces based hole healing approach where only the nodes located at an appropriate distance from the hole and the nodes having maximum energy  will be involved in the healing process. Unlike existing algorithms, proposed algorithm uses QURD based node detection and energy efficient Hole healing and thus solves the problem of hole with 100% coverage, minimum node movements and minimum node distance travelled thus giving a cost efficient solution.
A Review on Deep Learning Algorithms for Speech and Facial Emotion Recognition
Authors: Latha Charlyn Pushpa , Priya Mohana
Published: June 2019

Deep Learning is the recent machine learning technique that tries to model high level abstractions in data by using multiple processing layers with complex structures. It is also known as deep structured learning, hierarchical learning or deep machine learning. The term “deep learning" indicates the method used in training multi-layered neural networks. Deep Learning technique has obtained remarkable success in the field of face recognition with 97.5% accuracy. Facial Electromyogram (FEMG) signals are used to detect the different emotions of humans. Some of the deep learning techniques discussed in this paper are Deep Boltzmann Machine (DBM), Deep Belief Networks (DBN), Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) and Stacked Auto Encoders respectively. This paper focuses on the review of some of the deep learning techniques used by various researchers which paved the way to improve the classification accuracy of the FEMG signals as well as the speech signals.
An Approach of Neural Network For Electrocardiogram Classification
Authors: Gautam Mayank Kumar , Giri Vinod Kumar
Published: June 2019

ECG is basically the graphical representation of the electrical activity of cardiac muscles during contraction and release stages. It helps in determination of the cardiac arrhythmias in a well manner. Due to this early detection of arrhythmias can be done properly. In other words we can say that the bio-potentials generated by the cardiac muscles results in an electrical signal called Electro-cardiogram (ECG). It acts as a vital physiological parameter, which is being used exclusively to know the state of the cardiac patients. Feature extraction of ECG plays a vital role in the manual as well as automatic analysis of ECG. In this paper the study of the concept of pattern recognition of ECG is done. It refers to the classification of data patterns and characterizing them into classes of predefined set. The analysis ECG signal falls under the application of pattern recognition. The ECG signal generated waveform gives almost all information about activity of the heart. The ECG signal feature extraction parameters such as spectral entropy, Poincare plot and Lyapunov exponent are used for study in this paper .This paper also includes artificial neural network as a classifier for identifying the abnormalities of heart disease.
Detection of Compromised Nodes in Wireless Sensor Networks using GPSR Protocol and Iterative Filtering Algorithm
Authors: Ramalakshmi R. , Prabhu S. Subash , Balasubramanian C.
Published: June 2019

The sensor network is used to observe surrounding area gathered and spread the information to other sink. The advantage of this network is used to improve life time and energy. The first sensor node or group of sensor nodes in the network runs out of energy. The aggregator node can send aggregate value to the base station. The sensor node can be used to assign initial weights for each node. This sensor node calculates weight for each node. Which sensor node weight should be lowest amount they can act as a cluster head. The joint node can send false data to the aggregator node and then these node controls to adversary. The dependability at any given instant represents an comprehensive behavior of participate to be various types of defects and misconduct. The adversary can send information to aggregator node then complexity will be occurred. These nodes are used to reduce the energy and band width.
Genetic Algorithm Artificial Neural Network in Near Infrared Spectroscopic Quantification
Authors: Gamal Al-Kaf Hasan Ali , Chia Kim Seng , Al-subari Musaed
Published: June 2019

The implantation of a genetic algorithm (GA) in quantitating components of interest in near infrared spectroscopic analysis could improve the predictive ability of a regression model. Thus, this study investigates the feasibility of a single layer Artificial Neuron Network (ANN) that trained with Levenberg-Marquardt (SLM) coupled with GA in predicting the boiling point of diesel fuel and the blood hemoglobin using near infrared spectral data. The proposed model was compared with a well-known model of Partial Least Squares (PLS) with and without Genetic Algorithm. Results show that the proposed model achieved the best results with root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) of 3.6734 and correlation coefficient of 0.9903 for the boiling point, and RMSEP of 0.2349 and correlation coefficient of 0.9874 among PLS with and without GA, and SLM without GA. Findings suggest that the proposed SLM-GA is insusceptible to the number of iterations when the SLM was trained with excessive iteration after the optimal iteration number. This indicates that the proposed model is capable of avoiding overfitting issue that due to excessive training iteration.
RK Algorithm: Stochastic Parallel Methodology for Symmetric Key Cryptography
Authors: Ramesh Yegireddi , Kumar Reddi Kiran
Published: June 2019

With the enormous growth in the Internet and network, data security has become an inevitable concern for any organization. From antecedent security has attracted considerable attention from network researchers. In this perspective many possible fields of endeavour come to mind with many cryptographic algorithms in a broader way, each is highly worthy and lengthy. As society is moving towards digital information age we necessitate highly standard algorithms which compute faster when data size is of wide range or scope. On survey, numerous sequential approaches carried out by symmetric key algorithms on 128 bits as block size are ascertained to be highly in securable and resulting at a low speed. As in the course the commodities are immensely parallelized on multi core processors to solve computational problems, in accordance with, propound parallel symmetric key based algorithms to encrypt/decrypt large data for secure conveyance. The algorithm is aimed to prevail by considering 64 character (512 bits) plain text data, processed 16 characters separately by applying parallelism and finally combine each 16 character cipher data to form 64 character cipher text. The round function employed in the algorithm is very complex, on which improves efficacy.
Intelligent agents based trusted revocation for securing clustering MANETS
Authors: Aranganathan A. , Suriyakala C.D.
Published: June 2019

Mobile Ad-hoc Network is a non-secure wireless network which has no infrastructure, dynamical topology in which the nodes can move anywhere, may join or leave the network through multi-hop communication. In cluster network, all the nodes can select one Cluster Head for transmission of data to another Cluster Head through gateways which is mainly used for saving energy of each node. Intelligent agents are used for collecting secure data from neighboring nodes and inform to the trusted agent in clustered networks. Security plays major role in wireless medium. Detecting malicious node is also causing a major concern to damage the data packets. To avoid this problem of entering malicious node in networks and non-secured data, agents based trusted revocation in clustering mobile ad-hoc network for improving security with Certificate Authority to improve the network performance like high throughput, less latency time and improved certificate revocation time using ns2 simulators.
Notice of Retraction Effects vanishing moments of discrete wavelet transform on MRI image compression algorithms
Authors: Pandian R. , LalithaKumari S.
Published: June 2019

Notice of Retraction-----------------------------------------------------------------------After careful and considered review of the content of this paper by a duly constituted expert committee, this paper has been found to be in violation of APTIKOM's Publication Principles.We hereby retract the content of this paper. Reasonable effort should be made to remove all past references to this paper.The presenting author of this paper has the option to appeal this decision by contacting ij.aptikom@gmail.com.-----------------------------------------------------------------------Image data usually contain considerable quantity of data that is redundant and much irrelevant, whereas an image compression technique overcomes this by compressing the amount of data required to represent the image. In this work, Discrete Wavelet Transform based image compression algorithm is implemented for decomposing the image. The various encoding schemes such as Embedded Zero wavelet, (EZW), Set Partitioning In Hierarchical Trees(SPIHT) and Spatial orientation Tree Wavelet(STW) are used and their performances in the compression is evaluated and also the effectiveness of different wavelets with various vanishing moments are analyzed based on the values of PSNR, Compression ratio, Means square error and bits per pixel. The optimum compression algorithm is also found based on the results.
CÓRREGO PIRAJUSSARA: RESPIRAR PARA REVIVER
Authors: Perim Marli Aparecida
Published: June 2019

O presente artigo trata da infraestrutura verde como uma ferramenta para aperfeiçoar a relação entre cidade e natureza e minimizar os efeitos da urbanização, motivando a resiliência dos ecossistemas urbanos. Este trabalho analisa a proposta de destamponamento dos córregos urbanos como contribuição aos projetos de corredores verdes, voltados a proporcionar maior sustentabilidade urbana. Mais especificamente foi estudado o caso do córrego Pirajussara, pertencente a bacia do rio Pinheiros, na cidade de São Paulo, tamponado na maior parte de sua extensão. A proposta de destamponamento, a exemplo de realizações em outros países, atinge a várzea do rio Pinheiros, junto ao corredor verde Ibirapuera-Villa Lobos, partindo da Cidade Universitária (CUASO), um dos núcleos do corredor Ibirapuera-Villa Lobos, aumentando a colaboração dos recursos hídricos no projeto de corredor verde. O trabalho foi parte da disciplina Desenho Ambiental, do programa de pós-graduação da Faculdade de Arquitetura e Urbanismo da Universidade de São Paulo. A incorporação do córrego destamponado ao corredor amplia a utilização do espaço verde pela população dos bairros do entorno e cria mais um espaço de resiliência urbana.
One-Year Healthcare Utilization for Patients That Received Endovascular Treatment Compared With Control
Authors: Kamal Noreen , Rogers Edwin , Stang Jillian , Mann Balraj , Butcher Kenneth S. , Rempel Jeremy , Jeerakathil Thomas , Shuaib Ashfaq , Goyal Mayank , Menon Bijoy K. , Demchuk Andrew M. , Hill Michael D.
Published: June 2019

Background and Purpose—

Endovascular therapy has been shown to be highly efficacious based on 90-day modified Rankin Scale score. We examined actual daily healthcare utilization from stroke onset to 1 year afterward from the ESCAPE trial (Endovascular Treatment for Small Core and Anterior Circulation Proximal Occlusion With Emphasis on Minimizing CT to Recanalization Time) and registry data.

Methods—

We examined patients from Alberta, Canada, that was enrolled into the ESCAPE trial and the Quality Improvement and Clinical Research registry in the 2016/2017 fiscal year. Through data linkages to several administrative data sets, the daily location of each patient was assessed in various healthcare settings.

Results—

A total of 286 patients were analyzed, 52 patients were in the treatment arm, and 47 patients were in the control arm of the ESCAPE trial while 187 patients received endovascular therapy as usual care (2016/2017 fiscal year). The odds of a patient being out of a healthcare setting over 1 year was significantly higher when they received endovascular therapy: 3.46 (1.68–7.30) in ESCAPE trial patients and 2.00 (1.08–3.75) in the Quality Improvement And Clinical Research patients.

Conclusions—

Endovascular therapy significantly reduces healthcare utilization up to 1 year after a stroke.
The Early Royal Society and Visual Culture
Authors: Kusukawa Sachiko
Published: June 2019

Recent studies have fruitfully examined the intersection between early modern science and visual culture by elucidating the functions of images in shaping and disseminating scientific knowledge. Given its rich archival sources, it is possible to extend this line of research in the case of the Royal Society to an examination of attitudes towards images as artifacts—manufactured objects worth commissioning, collecting, and studying. Drawing on existing scholarship and material from the Royal Society Archives, I discuss Fellows’ interests in prints, drawings, varnishes, colorants, images made out of unusual materials, and methods of identifying the painter from a painting. Knowledge of production processes of images was important to members of the Royal Society, not only as connoisseurs and collectors, but also as those interested in a Baconian mastery of material processes, including a “history of trades.” Their antiquarian interests led to discussion of painters’ styles, and they gradually developed a visual memorial to an institution through portraits and other visual records.
Richard Waller and the Fusion of Visual and Scientific Practice in the Early Royal Society
Authors: Reinhart Katherine M.
Published: June 2019

Richard Waller, Fellow and Secretary of the Royal Society, is probably best remembered for editing Robert Hooke’s posthumously published works. Yet, Waller also created numerous drawings, paintings, and engravings for his own work and the Society’s publications. From precisely observed grasses to allegorical frontispieces, Waller’s images not only contained a diverse range of content, they are some of the most beautiful, colorful, and striking from the Society’s early years. This article argues that Waller played a distinctly important role in shaping the visual program of the Royal Society by virtue of his multiple functions as reliable administrator and translator, competent natural philosopher, and skilled image-maker. It analyzes Waller’s visual works in the context of his graphic training—in part influenced by his mother Mary More—and situates them within the context of English image-making traditions and Waller’s own natural philosophical interests. Examined as a functional whole, Waller’s career as a Fellow of the Royal Society emerges as an important case study in the fusion of visual and scientific practices in early-modern England.
Transnational Criminal Investigations in Cyberspace: Challenges to National Sovereignty
Authors: Sieber Ulrich , Neubert Carl-Wendelin
Published: June 2019

The internet has become a major place of business for criminals. Due to the properties of cyberspace, crime committed on or by means of the internet is typically transnational in nature. This poses a significant obstacle for law enforcement authorities. As a rule, transnational exercise of enforcement jurisdiction traditionally constitutes a violation of another State’s territorial sovereignty. But do the same rules apply in the ‘global cyberspace?’

This article examines the applicability of the principle of territorial sovereignty in cyberspace. It rejects solutions that treat cyberspace as a common good and argues that transborder online criminal investigations infringe the territorial sovereignty of the State where the accessed data are located. Consequently, the analysis assesses justifications for such infringements on the basis of international treaty law, customary international law, and circumstances precluding wrongfulness. For the most intricate cases of loss of location, the analysis develops a carefully delimited, new solution based on the principle of necessity. The article also sheds light on future perspectives and advocates for a ‘cooperative cyberspace’ of investigators to counterbalance the unfettered global cyberspace of perpetrators.
Regulatory Safeguards in Mega-regionals against Sovereignty Loss
Authors: Riffel Christian
Published: June 2019

Trade and investment agreements are disputed because they limit the regulatory autonomy of national legislatures of participating countries. This is particularly true of mega-regionals given their expanded scope. On that account, negotiators build safe-guards into the agreements with a view to containing the intrusion into the national legal order. The debate revolves around whether the envisaged safeguards are sufficient to achieve that goal or whether, de lege ferenda, more needs to be done to find the right power balance. The present essay, first of all, elucidates the extent of sovereignty loss as a result of mega-regionals, and secondly, explores some options to secure policy space for national lawmakers, such as the use of broader exception clauses or the setting of guidelines for the calculation of damages.
South China Sea Arbitral Awards: Main Findings and Assessment
Authors: Paik Jin-Hyun
Published: June 2019

The South China Sea arbitration was an unusual case involving many intricate legal and factual issues. The proceedings were both procedurally and substantively complex. In addition, the arbitration was marred from the beginning by China’s refusal to participate in the proceedings. Nevertheless, an arbitral tribunal was constituted in accordance with Annex vii to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Once constituted, the Tribunal was able to conduct the proceedings expeditiously while assuring procedural fairness to both parties. The arbitral proceedings, which lasted three and half years since its initiation by the Philippines in January 2013, eventually produced two voluminous Awards. Both Awards were decided unanimously. The Awards marked an important milestone in terms of clarifying various provisions of the Convention. In particular, the Tribunal clarified the relationship between the Convention and prior historic rights that are at variance with its Convention. The Tribunal also undertook an unprecedented task in determining how Art. 121 (3) of the Convention should be interpreted and applied. The Tribunal took a broad and proactive approach towards the scope of the marine environment as well as that of the obligation of States to protect the marine environment. The Awards, however, are not free of controversy. Questions can be raised as to several aspects of the Awards. The Awards would have implications that go far beyond the immediate dispute. For the dispute between the Philippines and China, it remains to be seen whether the Awards, by addressing some of the most contentious legal issues, would help the Parties to find a constructive solution to their dispute in the South China Sea.
“Behold, the Lord’s Whore”? Slavery, Prostitution, and Luke 1:38
Authors: Hoke James N.
Published: June 2019

In Luke 1:38, Mary acknowledges that she is to bear a son, calling herself the δούλη κυρίου, “the Lord’s slave.” The ambiguity surrounding the “how” of her conception raises numerous sexual questions. Specifically, what might it mean in such an ancient, sexualized context to label oneself a slave? Though Mary submits to God, her master (κύριος), some early hearers of Luke’s story surely would have pictured this submission in conformity to the slave conditions familiar to them. Therefore, the slippery connections between the conditions of the δούλη and the πόρνη (“prostitute”) in the first and second centuries ce become relevant. In other words, it is probable that some would have heard Mary’s submission as δούλη κυρίου as her professing to be the πόρνη κυρίου, “the Lord’s whore.” After arguing the plausibility of this potentially shocking reading, this article turns to the work of theorist Gayle Rubin to consider its implications.
Sadomasochism and the Apocalypse of John: Exegesis, Sensemaking and Pain
Authors: Smit Peter-Ben
Published: June 2019

This essay proceeds from a modern sensitivity with regard to suffering and violence in canonical texts and draws on a modern phenomenon, sadomasochism (in particular masochism and appertaining theory, enhanced with theory concerning torture and pain), in order to understand the dynamics of suffering and its interpretation in the Apocalypse of John. The result of the paper is a contribution to the question what role pain and ­suffering play in the Apocalypse of John, as well as to the question to what extent comparing contemporary cultural phenomena and their analysis can contribute to the understanding of ancient texts. The paper also seeks to move beyond the rather pejorative and unnuanced use of the term ‘sadomasochistic’ in relation to the Apocalypse of John that has been used here and there in order to condemn the violence contained in the work (and, in the process, shedding rather shady light on BDSM practicioners).
Damascus: From the Fall of Persia to the Roman Conquest
Authors: Kosmin Paul J.
Published: June 2019

This contribution aims to provide an outline of the political dynamics, cultural developments, and, ultimately, historical semantics of the city of Damascus for the circle(s) of its eponymous Document.
Time and Gravity
Authors: Sadykov Robert
Published: June 2019

Several physical concepts, including the concept of time, are clarified herein by taking into account existing experimental data. In addition, the missing links among these physical concepts are established. This allows us to take another step towards understanding the physical nature of time.
Organisational Capacity and Health Security
Authors: Lai Allen Yu-Hung
Published: June 2019

Despite the emphasis placed on response capacity building to strengthen health security in this region, no comparative data exists to look into the determinants that drive the capacity. For public and private managers, the ignorance of capacity development and failure to assess it, by and large, points to highly ambiguous and flawed methodological approaches. This paper therefore reports on a qualitative interview study into capacity building around health security and explains the emergence of response capacity against the fight of influenza A H1N1 pandemics in Singapore and Taiwan in 2009. This paper further provides empirically grounded evidence to identify prerequisites for capacity development towards health security in response to (the same type of) public health crises in Asia.
Knowledge and Talent Development in the Electronics and Electrical (EE) Industry of Malaysia
Authors: Chin Yee Whah , Lim Ka Tiek , Khoh Soo Beng , Kamaruddin Shahrul
Published: June 2019

This paper examines knowledge diffusion, talent development and technology transfer in Malaysia’s electronics and electrical (EE) industry by employing a triangular model comprising the collaboration of the state, industry and the university in Penang’s Free Trade Zone. It examines the government’s policies and initiatives under the Economic Transformation Program (ETP) to rejuvenate Malaysia’s EE sector in the context of neoliberal globalisation. It explores and understands the actual transfer of tacit knowledge at ground level through three case studies which include multinational corporations and local contract manufacturers, a research university, and a newly-established non-profit knowledge institute, designated as Collaborative Research in Engineering, Science and Technology (CREST).
The Marxian Materialist Interpretation of History and Comparative Sociology
Authors: Rezaev Andrey V. , Zhikharevich Dmitrii M. , Lisitsyn Pavel P.
Published: June 2019

The paper argues that a materialistic understanding of history as Marx’s sociological research program has effectively been implemented in the comparative analysis of bourgeois societies. Both qualitative/case-oriented and quantitative/variable-oriented strategies of comparison were employed by Marx in his scholarship. The authors see the crucial dimension of the classical status of Marx in his engagement with historical comparisons – an analytical tendency he shares with Weber and, to some extent, Durkheim. A short historical exposition tracing the early reception of Marx in sociology continues with the most important contemporary criticisms of Marx’s comparative-historical analysis, focusing on the issues of Asiatic mode of production, the nature of European feudalism and the problem of capitalist rationality.
Max Weber and Comparison
Authors: Onaka Fumiya
Published: June 2019

This paper reconsiders Max Weber’s method of comparison focusing on the changes between 1904 and 1920. The method employed in this study involves the comparison of two texts of his main works: the old and new manuscripts of Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft, and the old and new versions of Die Protestantische Ethik und der “Geist” des Kapitalismus. The results reveal that the “comparison” of Max Weber gradually moved from “thick comparisons” based on descriptions of causal attribution in psychological or legal sense and elective affinity in Goethe’s sense to “broad comparisons” related to causal explanation through interpretive understanding and that only the latter has been adopted by various works in comparative and historical sociology.
Stein Rokkan’s Methodology of Macro-Historical Comparison
Authors: Mjøset Lars
Published: June 2019

Stein Rokkan (1921–1979) left behind him an unfinished, ambitious macro-historical research project aiming to explain mobilization sequences, democratic resilience, and party systems in 16 Western European countries. This article explicates the comparative methodology behind this project with reference to a philosophy of social science framework. The main features of the methodology are a series of intermediate, substantive, methodological elements in between formal theory (paradigms) and empirical observations. Each element is presented in detail: lists of variables, regional grid, typological-topological maps, and comparative case reconstructions. Problems due to under-specification of variables and ambiguities in Rokkan’s ideas about parsimonious systematizations are discussed, and two possible ways of revising the methodology are sketched. Among these, the contextualist option seems the most promising one.
The ngo ‘Soldiers’ Mothers’ in Russia and its Activities: Interpreted Through the Concept of ‘Human Dignity’
Authors: Skopin Denis
Published: June 2019

This paper offers an interpretation of the activity of the Russian ngo ‘Soldiers’ Mothers’ which provides legal assistance to soldiers and their families. This ngo attracts significant attention in Russia and some authors have already suggested explanations of its work from anthropological and sociological perspectives. This paper interprets the ‘Mothers’ through the concept of human dignity as understood by the German sociologist and philosopher Jürgen Habermas. As argued by Habermas, dignity is a communicative structure that makes the passage from morality to law and, therefore, the social dialogue possible. It is shown that dignity occupies a crucial place in the work of the activists of the organization, which forms a link between private and public spheres. This paper is based on interviews with the activists of the ‘Soldiers’ mothers’ of St. Petersburg.
Is There No Such Thing as Non-White Racism?
Authors: Kalunta-Crumpton Anita
Published: June 2019

Race-related legislative advances have been made over the years to the advantage of non-Whites. However, this reality is yet to alter mainstream discourses of racism, which have portrayed Whites as having monopoly over the perpetration of racism, arguably because they have systemic/institutional advantage and power to be racist toward non-Whites. This paper argues that racism can be non-institutional, that there is power in non-institutional racism, that non-Whites can utilize non-institutional racism to their advantage, and that racism is not race-specific. With a primary focus on how non-Whites might utilize non-institutional racism, this paper draws on media reports of events of the 2016 presidential election campaigns to demonstrate that the perpetration of racism is no longer a White prerogative, and that the victimization experiences of racism is no longer specific to non-Whites. The paper concludes with a call for these important dynamics of racism to be made salient in academic and public debates.
Peter the Venerable on the Talmud, the Jews, and Islam
Authors: Resnick Irven
Published: June 2019

It is largely for his attack upon the Talmud that Peter the Venerable’s Adversus Iudeorum inveteratam duritiem stands out. Peter is the first medieval Latin author to name the Talmud as such. Having identified the Talmud as a principal source of Jewish error, Peter condemns its influence upon Jews. In their Talmud, Peter the Venerable insists, Jews even declare that God condemns Christians to Hell “because they do not believe in the Talmud.” Peter views the Talmud not only as a source of error for Jews, however, but also for Muslims. Muḥammad wove the Qurʾān in part, Peter insists, out of the filthy cloth of the Jews’ Talmud. Since he claims that Satan is the ultimate source for Talmudic “lies,” he attributes both the Talmud and the Qurʾān to diabolical agency. This paper examines Peter’s view of the Talmud, then, and its deleterious influence upon both Jews and Muslims.
Sites of Controversy: Jews Debating Philosophy between Iberia and Occitania in the Fourteenth Century
Authors: Marvin Tamar Ron
Published: June 2019

The extant sources of the Maimonidean controversies demonstrate that medieval Jewish intellectual culture was sited in actual encounters and interactions. Such interactions often took place around the practices of writing, conveying, receiving, and discussing letters, social activities governed by communal norms. Whether in the course of collaborating with co-writers, seeking signatories in support of a proposition contained in the letter text, or congregating at an established meeting to discuss a newly arrived letter, those involved in the controversies were actively, socially engaged in addressing the problems raised by the incompatibility of the Greco-Islamic rationalist tradition with rabbinic principles. Through a careful examination of the rich letter collection Minḥat Qenaʾot from the Maimonidean controversy of 1304–1306, this paper details the modes of encounter among discussants in the acrimonious cultural debate.
Rules Governing the Use of Experts in International Disputes
Authors: Mbengue Makane Moïse , Das Rukmini
Published: June 2019

The use of experts before international courts and tribunals is receiving increased attention, bringing into sharp focus the fact that the practices and procedures governing the use of experts in international disputes have been growing somewhat spontaneously, often through case law, rather than through precise primary rules. This article examines the existing legal framework governing expert use, with the aim to study the development of practice through case law, judicial innovation or parties’ initiatives, rather than carefully planned legislative documents. It is also useful to have a comparative view of specific provisions across different statutes and rules – a review that is absent in the existing literature.
Procedural Developments at the International Criminal Court (2017)
Authors: Le Floch Guillaume , Lemey Marie , Paiola Lucie
Published: June 2019

The current column covers selected procedural developments at the International Criminal Court (“ICC”) in 2017. During the reporting period, the Court encountered a certain amount of turmoil. Notably, it was highly criticized by certain States. Nevertheless, this has not prevented the ICC from further developing its jurisprudence, and, indeed, as in recent years, the Court delivered numerous decisions. Concerning the proceedings before the Court, some of them confirmed a long-standing body of case law, whilst others provided useful clarifications on specific topics.
Revisiting Ocean Boundary Disputes in the South Pacific in Light of the South China Sea Arbitration: A Legal Perspective
Authors: Song Lili , Mosses Morsen
Published: June 2019

This article examines three ocean boundary disputes in the South Pacific in light of the South China Sea arbitration. First, we consider whether the Matthew and Hunter Islands, over which France and Vanuatu have made competing claims, are full-fledged islands or rocks and argue that they are likely to be rocks. Second, we discuss the dispute between Fiji and Tonga over the Minerva Reefs. We submit that, if the Minerva Reefs are low-tide elevations as public information in English generally suggests, Tonga’s historic claim to the maritime area around the Minerva Reefs would be inconsistent with the principle of ‘the land dominates the sea’. Third, we examine Tonga’s historic claim to the maritime area within a rectangle boundary defined in Tonga’s 1887 Royal Proclamation and submit that the main difficulty for Tonga to establish such claim is to prove that it has effectively exercised sovereignty over the relevant area.
Singapore
Authors: McCreath Millicent
Published: June 2019

This article summarises and discusses the main issues addressed at the conference hosted by the Centre for International Law at the National University of Singapore in March 2018 on Climate Change and the Law of the Sea: Adapting the Law of the Sea to Address the Challenges of Climate Change. The conference covered topics including the status and entitlement of offshore features, impacts of sea-level rise on baselines, the content of the LOSC climate change obligations, climate change dispute settlement under the LOSC, and possible ways to develop or adapt the LOSC to address the challenges of climate change.
Making Access to a Population of Bodies in the Name of Autonomy
Authors: Asmussen Ida Helene , Ó Cathaoir Katharina Eva
Published: June 2019

Developments within biotechnology are of a pace and complexity that challenge the predictability at the foundation of legislation, i.e. the possibility for politicians to foresee pitfalls and hazards, and design legislation accordingly. The lack of predictability is not only a challenge for the legislature, but also for the citizen, who is to consent to the new biotech services offered by the health authorities. How can one give informed consent to a measure, the consequences of which is hard to predict? Does the uncertainty and lack of predictability mean that paternalism has slipped back in as a ‘self-selected’ responsiveness to the rhetoric of the health regime? Recently, Denmark has taken another step in the direction of voiding autonomy of actual value by rendering genetic analysis contingent on agreeing that the resulting data may be stored in the recently established National Genome Centre, and reused for research unless the patient opts out.
Inaccessible Public Bus Services in Thailand
Authors: Kranrattanasuit Naparat
Published: June 2019

This article aims to explain the causes and effects of incompatibility between public bus services (provided by the Thai government) and the needs of passengers, particularly transport-disadvantaged passengers (namely children, elders, pregnant women, persons with wheelchair, mobility, hearing or visual impairment, people carrying heavy loads, the overweight, people with slow moving preferences). A documentary-research approach on Thai official documents, international and national academic papers is utilised for critical analysis. The findings show that even though the Thai government has planned to provide low floor public buses to facilitate passengers, the services remain challenging because of inaccessibility. The universal design concept provides for full installation of all aid tools that accommodate all groups of passengers. The article provides an overview of public bus services in Thailand, discusses the meaning of ‘accessibility,’ the causes and effects of incompatibility between public bus services and passengers’ needs, the multiple advantages of accessible public bus services for all, and concludes with recommendations.
Human Rights between the Local and Global
Authors: Wolman Andrew
Published: June 2019

Over the last two decades, municipal human rights institutions have proliferated around the world. One of the newest examples of such initiatives is the Seoul Human Rights Ombudsperson Office, which was established in January 2013 as one of the core institutions of human rights protection in Seoul, Korea. This article will present a case study of the operations of the Seoul Human Rights Ombudsperson Office based on interviews and documentary research. It will focus on the question of how this newly established institution fits into the existing human rights regime, and in particular address three distinct issues, namely the degree to which the Seoul Human Rights Ombudsperson Office reflects local versus national or international influences, the types of institutional relationships it has with other human rights actors, and the degree to which it implements local versus national or international human rights norms.
Minority Perception of Police Legitimacy in Finland: The Patterns and Predictors
Authors: Egharevba Stephen
Published: June 2019

Across the world, minorities are often perceived as social problems in policy formulations and processes in many societies. This perspective gets support from the notion that minorities engage in deviant and criminal behaviour. However, in Finland fewer scholarly attentions have explored the extent of minority attitudes and experiences as they relate to social problems in societies. The aim of this study is to explore procedural justice and its understanding thereof by minorities and racial groups in Finland in complying with police orders. Data for this study was collected between April 2013 and July 2015 from (N = 650) respondents from three major cities (Helsinki, Tampere and Turku) using minority experiences of racial profiling, encounters and unfair policing as variables that increase minority distrust in procedural justice in Finland. The result suggests that ethnicity influences minority views of procedural justice in the country. The implication of this finding is that there is a need for more exploration of the relationship between the police and minorities in Finland.
Litigation or Arbitration for Resolving Islamic Banking Disputes
Authors: Al-Shibli Farouq Saber
Published: June 2019

When investors decide to deal with Islamic banks, one of their main concerns is to ensure their businesses are protected in the case of disputes arising. For this reason, developing a good legal framework for resolving disputes is crucial to strengthen the position of Islamic banks in the global financial market. However, the unique nature of Islamic financial products and transactions requires that the disputes arising from this sector should not be dealt with by means of conventional laws and courts (litigation). It can be said that current practice, where Islamic banking and finance disputes are resolved by litigation with lopsided judgments is counterproductive to the practice of Islamic banking and finance. This article therefore explores the problems associated with resolving Islamic banking disputes through litigation and proposes arbitration as an alternative method for establishing a legal framework for dispute resolution in countries where Islamic banking is implemented.
The Political Economy and Underdevelopment of the Muslim World: A Juridico-Philosophical Perspective
Authors: Ebrahim Muhammed Shahid , Sheikh Mustapha
Published: June 2019

This article studies the relation between Islam and economic development from a juridico-philosophical perspective. A fresh review of this issue is timely, because of the ongoing laggardness of Arab and Muslim economies due to decades of Pareto-inferior poverty traps. We disentangle the viewpoints on the Islamic-economic nexus and determine that the backwardness of Muslim countries’ economies is primarily due to the retrograde outlook of the jurists (fuqahāʾ). Flawed jurisprudential reasoning is instrumental in the paucity of financial instruments, markets, and institutional development. We also scrutinise the jurists’ co-option by the ruling elite, which legitimises the elite’s autocracy. We conclude by recommending a salient strategy critical to fostering economic development and growth.