bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Bacterial Translocation in Small Intestinal Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury and Efficacy of Anti-CINC Antibody Treatment
Authors: Kaneko H. , Tamura A. , Ishii T. , Maeda T. , Katagiri T. , Ishii J. , Kubota Y. , Suzuki T. , Tsuchiya M. , Otsuka Y. , Yamazaki K. , Watanabe M. , Tatsuo T.
Published: March 2007

The involvement of bacterial translocation in small intestinal ischemia-reperfusion injuries and the efficacy of using anti-CINC antibodies for treatment were investigated. A model for ischemia-reperfusion injury of the small intestine was constructed by clamping the supramesenteric artery (for 90 min) in rats. Anti-CINC antibodies and saline were given just before the induction of ischemia in the treatment group and the control group, respectively. Six hours after reperfusion, bacteria were detected in the mesenteric lymph nodes, but the ‘bacteria-positive’ rate was significantly lower in the treatment group than in the control group. Bacterial cultures and endotoxins in the blood were negative in both groups up to 24 h later. The plasma cytokine levels showed similar variations, although the increases were significantly lower after reperfusion in the treatment group. In addition, the degrees of neutrophil infiltration and mucosal injury were attenuated in the small intestine, and the structure of the liver was maintained. Furthermore, the 1-week survival was improved. These results suggest that bacterial translocation occurred predominantly via the lymphatic system and that anti-CINC antibody treatment exerted a protective effect against small intestinal ischemia-reperfusion injury.
Diagnostic Value of Salivary Cortisol in Children with Abnormal Adrenal Cortex Functions
Authors: Cetinkaya Semra , Ozon Alev , Yordam Nursen
Published: March 2007

Aims: It has been shown that the free cortisol level in saliva may reflect plasma free cortisol. The measurement of cortisol in saliva is a simple method, and as such it is important in the pediatric age group. In this research, the diagnostic value of measurement of salivary cortisol (SC) measurement was examined in adrenal insufficiency (AI). Methods: Fifty-one patients, mean age 10.8 ± 4.29, who were investigated for possible AI, were included. Basal cortisol levels were below 18 µg/dl. Adrenal function was determined by low-dose ACTH test. During the test, samples for SC were obtained simultaneously with serum samples (at 0–10–20–30–40 min). Results: Mean basal serum cortisol level was 8.21 ± 4.10 µg/dl (mean ± SD). Basal SC was correlated to basal serum cortisol (r = 0.64, p < 0.001). A cut-off of 0.94 µg/dl for SC differentiated adrenal insufficient subjects from normals with a sensitivity and specificity of 80 and 77%, respectively. A peak SC less than 0.62 µg/dl defined AI with a specificity of 100%; however, sensitivity was 44%. Conclusion: Measurement of SC may be used in the evaluation of AI. It is well-correlated to serum cortisol. Peak SC in low-dose ACTH test can be used to differentiate patients with AI in the initial evaluation of individuals with suspected AI.
Longitudinal Assessment of Levo-Thyroxine Therapy for Congenital Hypothyroidism: Relationship with Aetiology, Bone Maturation and Biochemical Features
Authors: Delvecchio Maurizio , Faienza Maria Felicia , Acquafredda Angelo , Zecchino Clara , Peruzzi Sonia , Cavallo Luciano
Published: March 2007

Aims: To evaluate therapy and dose adjustments in patients with congenital hypothyroidism (CH), longitudinally followed up until 16 years old, according to aetiology, Beclard’s nuclei presence, and thyroxine (T4) level at diagnosis. Methods:L-T4/kg/day and dose change ratio (CR) were assessed in 74 CH patients. Results: The dose was statistically larger in athyreosis than in dyshormonogenesis (1–10 and beyond 14 years) and in ectopy (2, 15, 16 years). The ectopic children required statistically larger L-T4/kg than the dyshormonogenetic ones (3–7 years). The L-T4/kg/day was increased, not statistically, in patients or with T4 <30 nmol/l or without Beclard’s nuclei at diagnosis. The CR progressively dropped after the 6th month at each attendance, without any difference in terms of aetiology, T4 level at diagnosis, or Beclard’s nuclei. The total CR was greater (significantly) in patients without Beclard’s nuclei, and (not significantly) in those with T4 <30 nmol/l at diagnosis or with agenesia. Conclusion: The L-T4 dose in CH is highly affected by the aetiology. The CR is higher in patients with delayed bone maturation at diagnosis. We suggest that these latter patients need blood tests more frequently to obtain a proper titration of the therapy.
Peptidoglycan Increases Firm Adhesion of Monocytes under Flow Conditions and Primes Monocyte Chemotaxis
Authors: Nijhuis Manon M.Oude , Pasterkamp Gerard , Sluis Nienke I. , de Kleijn Dominique P.V. , Laman Jon D. , Ulfman Laurien H.
Published: March 2007

The Toll-like receptor (TLR) 2/nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain ligand peptidoglycan (PG) has been shown to be present in macrophage-rich regions within atherosclerotic lesions, and stimulation of TLR2 promotes atherosclerotic plaque and intima formation in in vivo mouse models. We determined the effect of a PG preparation and Pam3Cys-SK4, a synthetic TLR2 activator, on (1) adhesion molecule expression by flow cytometry; (2) monocyte adhesion under flow conditions, and (3) monocyte migration. The total adhesion (rolling and firm adhesion) of the PG-preparation-stimulated monocytes to L cells, constitutively expressing ICAM-1 (intercellular adhesion molecule-1) and E-selectin, was decreased. This was most likely due to the L-selectin shedding, since monocyte incubation with a blocking L-selectin antibody resulted in a comparable number of adherent monocytes as PG-stimulated cells. The PG preparation induced an increased percentage of firmly adherent, polarized cells and a β2-integrin-dependent binding to ICAM-1-coated beads. Interestingly, the PG preparation induced a priming of the monocytes for increased migration towards the chemoattractant C5a which was TLR2 and β2-integrin dependent. Pam3Cys-SK4 gave comparable results to the PG preparation in all assays tested. This study demonstrates that PG activation of monocytes results in an increase in adhesive and migratory capacities of these cells. This might be a mechanism by which PG promotes atherosclerotic disease in vivo.
Sonographic Diagnosis and Follow-Up of Pneumonia: A Prospective Study
Authors: Reissig Angelika , Kroegel Claus
Published: March 2007

Background: Although transthoracic ultrasound offers several important advantages as diagnostic imaging technique in pleural and pulmonary conditions, its significance for the diagnosis and monitoring of pneumonia has yet to be established. Objectives: To identify sonographic features associated with pneumonia at admission and during the course of the disease under treatment. Methods: Thirty patients (12 females, 18 males; median age 65.5 years) with X-ray-proven pneumonia underwent transthoracic sonography (TS) on day 0, between days 1 and 3, 4 and 7, 8 and 14, 15 and 21, and after day 21. TS was assessed according to: number, location, shape, echogenicity, echotexture, echostructure, breath-depending movement, size of pneumonic lesions, bronchoaerogram, fluid bronchogram, superficial fluid alveologram, necrotic areas, vascularity and incidence of local and/or basal pleural effusion. Results:Thirty-three pneumonic infiltrates were eligible for analysis in 30 patients. In 57% (17/30), the likely pathogenic microorganism was identified. Pneumonia was recognized as a hypoechoic area of varying size (mean size between 33.7 × 9.38 and 91.2 × 45.3 mm) and shape, with irregular and blurred margins along with a nonhomogeneous echotexture. The most characteristic feature was a positive bronchoaerogram (32/33). Sixty-one percent (20/33) revealed basal and 9% (3/33) local effusion. During follow-up, lesions decreased in size or disappeared (30/33) or decreased in number (4/9). The bronchoaerogram became less pronounced (13/32), basal pleural effusion either diminished (7/20) or dissipated (7/20), as did localized effusion (3/3). In 30 cases, the course of pneumonia was comparable using X-ray and TS. Conclusions: TS is a noninvasive technique for the diagnosis and follow-up of patients with pneumonia.
Shared heritage and differing values in child welfare services in Scotland and North Carolina
Authors: Beerman Daniel R. , Smith Mark
Published: March 2007

English

The unique shared history of Scotland and North Carolina offers fertile ground for cross-cultural comparison of child welfare approaches. This preliminary study yields a rich scholarly and structural contrast, which allows for deeper understanding of how cultural differences affect the delivery of child welfare services.

French

La situation historique unique de l'Écosse et de la Caroline du Nord qui ont un passé commun offre un terrain fertile pour l'é tude comparative des diffé rences interculturelles en ce qui a trait aux approches en matiè re de protection de l'enfance. L'é tude pré liminaire ré vè le un riche contraste sur les plans du savoir et des structures, ce qui permet de mieux saisir l'impact des diffé rences culturelles sur la livraison des services de protection de l'enfance.

Spanish

La historia única compartida entre Escocia y Carolina del Norte ofrece un terreno fé rtil para las aproximaciones a la comparación transcultural en el bienestar infantil. Este estudio preliminar produce un rico contraste tanto estructural como en conocimientos, el cual permite un entendimiento más profundo sobre la manera en que las diferencias culturales impactan la adjudicación de los servicios de bienestar infantil.
Responding to the war with Iraq among social work faculty in the USA, UK and Australia
Authors: Davis Cindy , Cummings Sherry , MacMaster Samuel , Thompkins Albert
Published: March 2007

English

The current study explored how social work educators responded to the war with Iraq. The majority of respondents felt that faculty had a responsibility to educate students about the war. However, more Australian respondents felt that social work faculty had a responsibility to advocate for or against the war.

French

La présente étude explore la réponse des professeurs en travail social à la guerre en Irak. La majoritédes répondants soutiennent que leur facultéa la responsabilitéde renseigner les étudiants au sujet de la guerre. Toutefois, les répondants australiens soutiennent en plus grand nombre que la facultéa aussi la responsabilitéde justifier un positionnement en faveur ou à l'encontre de la guerre.

Spanish

El presente estudio explorócómo reaccionaron los educadores de trabajo social frente a la guerra con Iraq. La mayoría de los entrevistados expresóque la facultad tenía la responsabilidad de educar a los estudiantes acerca de la guerra. Sin embargo, muchos de los entrevistados australianos manifestaron que la facultad de trabajo social tenía una responsabilidad de abogar por la guerra o en contra de ella.
Developing social work in Vietnam
Authors: Hugman Richard , Lan Nguyen Thi Thai , Hong Nguyen Thuy
Published: March 2007

English

There has been a growing recognition in Vietnam (since the 1986 economic reforms) that professional social work is required to respond effectively to social problems. This article presents findings from a government and UNICEF-sponsored study undertaken to examine developments in social work. These are considered in relation to the profession globally.

French

Au Vietnam, on reconnaît de plus en plus, depuis les réformes é conomiques de 1986, que le travail social professionnel est né cessaire pour ré pondre adé quatement aux problèmes sociaux. Cet article pré sente les ré sultats d'une é tude commandité e par le gouvernement et l'UNICEF sur l'é volution du travail social. Les ré sultats sont mis en perspective par rapport à la profession dans son ensemble.

Spanish

Ha habido un reconocimiento creciente en Vietnam (a partir de las reformas económicas de 1986) en el sentido de que el trabajo social profesional es necesario para responder efectivamente a los problemas sociales. Este artículo presenta los hallazgos de un estudio patrocinado por el gobierno y la UNICEF, realizado para examinar los desarrollos en trabajo social. Estos son considerados en relación con la profesión en una perspectiva global.
Pilot-testing the Vietnamese Parental Attitude Scale
Authors: Cheung Monit , Nguyen MyHang Sabrina
Published: March 2007

English

Three factors were extracted from the Vietnamese Parental Attitude Scale: cultural values, parental expectations and communications. Thirty Vietnamese-American parents showed high expectations for school performance, gender equity, respect for teachers, a successful marriage and parental love, but relatively low expectations for Vietnamese language conformity and absolute obedience.

French

Trois facteurs de l'échelle Vietnamienne d'Attitudes Parentales ont fait l'objet de cette étude: les valeurs culturelles, les attentes des parents et les communications. Trente-cinq parents américains d'origine vietnamienne ont manifestéd'importantes attentes envers la performance scolaire, l'égalitédes genres, le respect envers les professeurs, la réussite du mariage, l'amour entre parents, mais des attentes moins élevées à l'égard du respect de la langue vietnamienne et de l'obéissance absolue.

Spanish

Se extrajeron tres factores de la Escala Vietnamita de Actitud Parental: valores culturales, expectativas parentales, y comunicaciones. Treinta y cinco padres americano-vietnamitas mostraron tener expectativas escolares altas, igualdad de gé nero, respeto hacia los profesores, éxito matrimonial, amor paterno y materno, pero relativamente bajas expectativas respecto a formación en la lengua vietnamita y obediencia absoluta.
In the Third Space
Authors: Barlow Constance A.
Published: March 2007

English

Utilizing data derived from Indian field instructors, Indian administrators and students, this article considers the experience of Canadian social work practicum students in India within the conceptual framework of Bhabha's Third Space. It concludes with implications for social work international field education.

French

En s'inspirant de données provenant de superviseurs, d'administrateurs et d'étudiants indiens, cette étude se penche sur l'expérience d'étudiants canadiens en stage de travail social en Inde, et qui se sont inspirés du cadre conceptuel du troisième espace de Bhabha. Cette étude tire des conclusions pour l'enseignement du travail social international.

Spanish

Se considera la experiencia de trabajo de campo de estudiantes canadienses en la India. Se utilizan los datos derivados de los instructores de campo y administradores de la India, y de los estudiantes mismos. El trabajo de campo estaba enmarcado conceptualmente por el Bhabha's Tercer Espacio. Se concluye con implicaciones para las prácticas de trabajo social en el campo internacional.
Security Dilemmas in Asia
Authors: Acharya Sukanta
Published: March 2007

A chain of asymmetrical security dilemmas exists in Asia, in which rivalries between pairs of weaker and stronger states are driving security conflicts. Pakistan views India as its primary threat; India is focused on China; China's principal security concern is the United States; and the United States worries about any potential challengers. States confronting stronger rivals often feel the need to improve their military capabilities, even if this threatens their weaker neighbours. The asymmetrical relationships in Asia not only complicate global arms control and non-proliferation efforts, but also have the potential to fuel ballistic missile and nuclear weapons proliferation throughout the region. A key question is whether China, India and Pakistan will remain satisfied with relatively small strategic forces, or whether they will seek to develop large, operationally deployed forces. It is perhaps true that the United States has an increasingly determining role in fixing proliferation linkages among these states. Three sets of potential proliferation linkages (based on security, prestige and domestic coalitions) can influence decisions about the force structure. Further, there are many factors which may act as potential drivers for nuclear build-ups. A key question remains whether CBMs like transparency might dampen the linkages between the overlapping security dilemmas in Asia.
The State-Society Relationship and Political Conflicts in Nepal (1768-2005)
Authors: Riaz Ali , Basu Subho
Published: March 2007

For nearly a decade, from the declaration of Maoist ‘people's war’ in January 1996 to the formation of new alliance for the restoration of democracy in December 2005, Nepal has experienced a three-way power struggle between Maoist insurgents who want a republic based on egalitarian principles, elected politicians who want an unfettered role in policy making and a monarch bent upon a return to pre-democratic Nepal. This article attempts to explain this crisis from a structural-historical perspective and argues that fundamental to the understanding of this crisis is the state-society relationship. The article contends that the complex use of the constructed Hindu identity to provide cultural legitimacy to the monarchical political order, that has existed since the inception of the state in the 18th century to the democratic revolution in 1990, has contributed to the political alienation of substantial segment of ethnically, socially and economically marginalized population from the Nepalese state. By examining complex interactions among political and economic factors, this article further contends that the unrepresentative process of state formation and the tradition of governance have contributed to the alienation of the citizens from the state and created a political space for violent rebellion and state terrorism undermining fragile but emerging democratic institutions.
Decentralization Opening a New Window for Corruption
Authors: Tambulasi Richard I.C. , Kayuni Happy M.
Published: March 2007

This article evaluates the first four years of decentralized local governance in Malawi with special focus on accountability of local assemblies. The article mainly relies on primary sources such as newspapers, governmental and non-governmental reports and a comparative literature survey. We argue that decentralized local governance in Malawi has enhanced corruption among the local assemblies in relation to their election, awarding of contracts and other related acts. This has consequently led to, inter alia, financial mess in local assemblies, loss of citizen and donor trust as well as low-quality infrastructures. Meanwhile, the democracy and good governance that were envisaged in the creation of local assemblies through the Local Government Act 1998 and the Malawian constitution have seriously been undermined.
The Tragedy of Tragedy
Authors: Euben J. Peter
Published: March 2007

There are good reasons to consider tragedy, especially Greek tragedy, a resource for current debates in international relations. This is not only because of the ethical and political dilemmas tragedy explores with such dramatic force, but because tragedy is a significant context for reading Thucydides with the political and literary acumen he demands. To ignore this context is to domesticate the ways tragedy challenges both our conventional readings of Thucydides as well as our substantive views of politics and the ways we study it. While this article fully supports the enterprise of invigorating classical realism with the study of tragedy and of posing the question, ‘What can a tragic sensibility contribute to our understanding of international politics?’, it makes that enterprise and that question more rather than less problematic. But it does so in the name of Greek tragedy and for an ultimately more challenging appropriation of it.
China and the EU: A Strategic Axis for the Twenty-First Century?
Authors: Scott David
Published: March 2007

The EU–China relationship is now emerging as a significant feature of the international system. The EU's institutional consolidation, development of supranational trade power and the foreign policy openings of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) has entwined with the PRC's ongoing sense of geopolitical manoeuvrings between the superpowers. With its talk of ‘multipolarity’, grand strategy has converged, though the PRC's stress on ‘multipolarity’ can perhaps be distinguished from the EU's stress on ‘multilateralism’. Nevertheless, human rights issues apart, the EU–China relationship has matured in the last two decades to involve significant economic matters and visions of a wider ‘strategic partnership’, bringing with it a challenge to American unipolar unilateralism.
The Amerasian Problem: Blood, Duty, and Race
Authors: Gage Sue-Je Lee
Published: March 2007

The concept of ‘mixed blood’ is not a new one; however, it was not until 1982 that an unprecedented policy entitled ‘The Amerasian Act’ was created by the US government. Focusing on the author's ethnographic fieldwork in South Korea and the US, this article will unpack the assumptions underlying the seemingly religious statement ‘the American thing to do’ in terms of US policy, where ostensibly scientific notions of ‘race’, blood and identity are employed.
Torture, Rights, Rules and Wars: Ireland to Iraq
Authors: Kennedy-Pipe Caroline , Mumford Andrew
Published: March 2007

This piece1 responds to some of the challenges posed by Rosemary Foot in her article, ‘Torture: The Struggle over a Peremptory Norm in a Counter-Terrorist Era’, also published in International Relations. It looks again at the debates about the seeming rise in the acceptability of torture in the post-9/11 environment, reflects on what the use of ‘torture’ in Ireland during the 1970s might tell us, and suggests ways of thinking about rules, norms and the mistreatment of terrorist suspects.
Delhi's Belly
Authors: Mann Michael
Published: March 2007

The article locates Delhi's urban environmental history firmly within the matrix of colonial urban politics, and analyses the relationship between sanitary discourse in Europe and the ‘politics of sanitation’ in India. It describes how colonial town planning, particularly in the context of Delhi, segregated sanitary and unsanitary spaces on a racial basis, the former being inhabited largely by the colonizers and the latter by the colonized. It discusses the technological and administrative measures undertaken by the colonial authorities to improve sanitary conditions on the one hand, and provide fresh water on the other. The article argues that New Delhi, and its water and waste disposal systems, was conceived of in a segregated way with respect to the old city, and civic services too benefited the new city at the expense of the old. It establishes a contrast between conceptions of the city in the West (as modern and progressive spaces) and in India (as unsanitary and therefore uncivilized spaces). Old Delhi, the author argues, was made ‘old’ through neglect and underdevelopment.
Empire in the Hills
Authors: Pradhan Queeny
Published: March 2007

The article focuses on the transformation of the four hill stations of Simla, Darjeeling, Ootacamund and Mount Abu in the nineteenth century from summer stations to imperial capitals. The taking of hill sites was not uncontested though many official and individual English records convey an impression that it was ‘peaceable’. However, hill sites were not acquired without protracted negotiations with the local rulers. The article has used various lease documents and other incidental references to indicate the tensions involved in acquisition.

Early developments are traced to accentuate the large-scale changes wrought in the late nine-teenth century with the declaration of these sites as imperial capitals. The political ramifications of such a move are explored along with the symbolic significance of exodus and its adherence to royal protocol. The main thrust of the argument is that the British were throughout conscious of their position as rulers and every action was calculated to strengthen their hegemonic position. The construction of roads, railways and bridges aimed at showing the ‘awesome’ technological superiority of the English in the eyes of the ‘natives’.

While tracing the imperial developments, the article probes the tensions and contradictions of colonial urban development, especially with the coming of the imperial capitals. The earlier appeal of the picturesque was marred by the nature of activities undertaken by the English in the late nineteenth century. The very exclusivity which the English sought for themselves was neutralized by their need to provide urban comforts which involved the use of Indian labour. Congestion and fears of subversion and diseases, which threatened the British in the Indian plains, haunted them in the hills by the twentieth century.
Representations of Ireland in the Political Thinking of Sri Aurobindo Ghosh
Authors: Sen Arpita
Published: March 2007

In an interview given to Henry W. Nevinson in December 1907, Aurobindo Ghosh had spoken about his purpose regarding the Swadeshi Movement which, he explained, was the Irish policy of Sinn Fein—a universal swadeshi not limited to goods but including every phase of life. Many of his articles written between 1894 and 1910 and comments after 1910 also contain allusions to Ireland and its freedom struggle in different contexts. However several years later, sometime between 1943 and 1946, by which time Aurobindo had become a mystic, at his ashram in Pondicherry Aurobindo took recourse to an entirely different position. This article is an attempt to find out answers to the contradictory stand taken by Aurobindo in regard to Ireland and its freedom struggle by analysing his political writings, interviews and comments which contained references to Ireland and its freedom struggle. In the larger context, this article attempts to analyse the conflict inherent in the personality of a Western-educated Bengali. This article argues that Aurobindo had knowledge of the developments in Ireland and was influenced by them to a certain extent, which in turn shaped his representations of Ireland that shifted over time. Aurobindo's representations of Ireland were determined by his changing experience of the two worlds, Occidental and Oriental, and suggest that liminality and hybridity are necessary attributes of the colonial man and as such colonial identities are always a matter of flux and agony.
The Congress and the INA Trials, 1945–50
Authors: Alpes Maybritt Jill
Published: March 2007

Whilst during the war the Indian National Army (hereafter INA) could be charged with having been the ‘puppet army’ of a fascist regime, the INA was brought firmly into the realms of anti-colonial and nationalist discourse after the war. Despite its earlier very distanced position, the Congress chose in 1945 to appropriate the trials of the INA soldiers to its own political advantage. Due to its emotive value, the INA became a symbol of national pride and anti-colonial resistance. Political engineering of the Congress can largely explain why the INA men had their biggest impact as prisoners of war, rather than as actual soldiers. Whilst the Congress dominated the perception and portrayal of the INA, the issue also helped to reinforce the ‘secular’ and ‘nationalist’ image of the Congress itself. The cause of the INA, the Congress and even the Indian ‘nation’ began to merge. The Congress by appropriating the perception and portrayal of the INA also managed to champion the very meaning of ‘nationalism’ itself.
Yesterday’s Papers and Today’s Technology
Authors: Deacon David
Published: March 2007

This article considers the methodological implications of using digital newspaper archives for analysis of media content. The discussion identifies arange of validity and reliability concerns about this increasingly prevalent mode of analysis, which have been under-appreciated to date. Although these questions do not deny a role for the use of proxy data in media analysis, they do highlight the need for caution when researchers rely on text-based, digitalized archives.
How States, Markets and Globalization Shape the News
Authors: Benson Rodney , Hallin Daniel C.
Published: March 2007

This article presents a comparative content analysis of the US and French national press in the 1960s and 1990s to test hypotheses about the influence of media structure on journalistic discourse. The US and French press are presented as strongly contrasting models, with the US press more commercialized, and the French press more closely tied to the political field. Using a variety of story- and paragraph-level content indicators, this studyshows that the French press ( Le Monde and Le Figaro) offers relatively more critical coverage, a greater representation of civil society viewpoints, a stronger emphasis on both the ideological and strategic ‘game’ aspects of politics, and a higher proportion of interpretation and opinion mixed with factual reporting. Representing the US national press, The New York Times is shown to ‘index’ its coverage more closely to political elite viewpoints. Despite globalizing pressures, French-US differences have not diminished over time.
The Production of Television Fiction and Nation Building
Authors: Castelló Enric
Published: March 2007

A nation needs its own fiction. It is for this reason that many countries have used fictional narratives to create a self-image. This article describes the role that fictional television series play in the process of nation building and proposes an analytical model that is based on quantitative and qualitative methods. It is argued that national identity is promoted through referential elements in fictional discourse, most of which are territorial and linguistic, although some are historical, institutional and cultural. It is also argued that the process unfolds in a politically controversial space of contestation where national culture is defined. The author studied the production of fiction on Catalan public television from 1994 to 2003, analysing content and documentation and carrying out in-depth interviews with scriptwriters and managers. The article points out how important cultural policy and production dynamics are in determining the kind of nation that is being represented.
Towards a Practice of Democratic Citizenship
Authors: Roy Anupama
Published: March 2007

The articles in this special volume were presented in the sub-theme panel on ‘Rethinking Citizenship, Communities and Rights’ at the Eleventh Conference of the Indian Association for Women's Studies on ‘Citizenship, Gender and Sovereignty’ held in Goa from 3 to 6 May 2005. They explore the contests and debates that inform the theory and practice of citizenship in contemporary contexts. While delineating the contours of the debate, the articles identify the historically emergent strands that constitute the debate, the manner in which contending practices of citizenship—hegemonic state practices of rule and countervailing struggles—continually articulate and evolve ‘people's practices of citizenship’, rupturing hegemonies and rearticulating citizenship. In the process, they move beyond legal-formal frameworks to see how citizenship unfolds in specific contexts, and explore the possibilities of continually opening up spaces for the articulation of substantive citizenship embedded in democratic politics.
Gendering Resource Rights and Democratic Citizenship
Authors: Vasan Sudha
Published: March 2007

Recognition of political rights by state and civil society is an essential element of citizenship. However, this limited idea of citizens as rights bearing individuals is insufficient to constitute a democratic citizenship. In a democratic notion of citizenship, individuals are constituted not only as social subjects who receive certain rights from the state, but also as social agents who actively engage with the state. They are not merely holders of political rights conferred by a patriarchal state, but are active constituents of it. While the traditional notion of citizenship has focused on political rights, in subsistence-level societies political rights make little sense in the absence of a right to livelihood. In many rural subsistence-level societies forests are a primary arena for interaction, negotiation, struggle and conciliation between state and society. Policies and practices that shape control over forests have a direct impact on the autonomy of citizens, and a struggle for such rights constitutes individuals as members of civil society. In this context, this article examines forest policies in Himachal Pradesh for their role in the recognition of the autonomy, rights and responsibilities of women. A reconstruction of the notion of citizenship needs to include livelihood rights as this often is the actual terrain where political rights are exerted, where struggles and negotiation between state and civil society takes place, and where indi-viduals emerge as citizens. In addition, it is emphasised that active political engage-ment is a critical element of a democratic notion of citizenship, in addition to citizens being rights-bearing individuals.
Between ‘Empowerment’ and ‘Liberation’
Authors: Devika J. , Thampi Binitha V.
Published: March 2007

Micro-finance and its (purported) capacity to empower women is by now a well-explored field all over the world. We now have several tools by which micro-finance programmes may be assessed. However, here we attempt to critically assess the claims of the Kerala government's poverty eradication programme, the Kudumbashree, which combines a micro-finance model with other elements through critical feminist lenses. Further, we attempt to place this programme within Kerala's own historical experience of empowering the poor. Given the fact that this major effort to popularise micro-finance in Kerala has the twin aims of poverty alleviation and women's empowerment, this seems justified. We try to place the ‘micro-finance revolution’ in Kerala within the larger historical trajectory of successive ‘regimes of empowerment’ in order to understand the different political stakes in each, and their implications for gender politics. While using some of the available tools that employ indicators of gender effectiveness to assess the impact of micro-finance in empowering women is certainly a basic exercise, the present approach allows us to draw lessons for effective gender politics through a comparison with earlier modes of empowering the deprived classes in Kerala.
Rethinking Citizenship
Authors: Narrain Arvind
Published: March 2007

Citizenship, as conventionally understood, draws its definitional strength from a framework of national law increasingly supplemented by international law. There is a radical potential to the idea of citizenship as a concept that allows it to represent the rights of groups that have historically been marginalised. The recent history of the queer rights movement shows an attempt to frame queer struggles within the language of rights. While this has undoubtedly been an extremely useful strategy in terms of putting forward the radical idea of queer people as citizens of this country, it suffers from serious limitations. While mapping out the strengths of the use of rights as a framework of articulation, this article goes on to note the significant ways in which the radical critique of institutions such as the family and monogamy is muted by an appeal to the law. What the law eventually protects is a queer citizen who leaves aside his queerness and joins the mainstream as a person who is different but equal. In this context, this article addresses the role of the ´illegal citizen’ who resists the demands of ´normality’ and thereby struggles to articulate his/her concerns in the face of a legal system that cannot take on board the diverse ways in which his/her life threatens mainstream institutions.
Forced Evictions and Factory Closures
Authors: Padhi Ranjana
Published: March 2007

The direct and systematic assault on people's lives and livelihood in the context of slum demolitions and forcible evictions form part of a continuing drive to restructure the economy as well as the city. The ‘cleansing and beautification’ of the city has drastically changed the lives and livelihood resources of the working class. The urban poor are not only continually relocated to the margins of the city, but are also subjected to loss of dignity and exploitative labour for survival. Labelled outsiders by the judiciary, media and policy makers, and being pushed out of the electoral process, the question of citizenship becomes poignantly questionable for evicted slum dwellers. The impact on both housing and livelihood affects women in multifarious ways, including repression by the state machinery and constant police surveillance, increasing their vulnerability. This article is an attempt to re-examine settled notions of citizenship and rights as they unfold in the context of a metropolis like Delhi, focusing specifically on the manner in which citizenship for the working class is experienced in terms of continual ‘relocation’ to the margins of the city.1 While examining the processes of this relocation, the article shows how the institutions of state, including the judiciary, the police, as well as political representatives, construe the working poor as anomalous to what the city signifies, namely, beauty and civility. The construction of the working class as citizen-outsiders is imbued with a strange paradox. While the city requires them to sustain and reproduce itself in a manifestation of what has been termed as the masked nature of modern citizenship, it also pushes them out, physically and metaphorically, as incongruous and inconsistent with the life that the city promises—of sprawling malls and gated communities.
Retrieving Voices from the Margins
Authors: Singh Lata
Published: March 2007

This article examines how contemporary feminist theatre ‘disrupts’ and ‘disturbs’ the nationalist project's hegemonic claim to respectability by reclaiming the voices of ‘loose’ women. It examines in particular a play, San Sattavan ka Qissa: Azizun Nisa, by Tripurari Sharma, to show how the foregrounding of the courtesan in the public-political space creates uneasy tensions in the way in which social, political and national life is organised by emerging middle-class nationalists. Moreover, by unravelling the various aspects of Azizun Nisa's publicness—as a courtesan and as a participant in the revolt of 1857—the play shows the distinctive ways in which resistance to norms is fashioned by Azizun Nisa in each case. By exploring the ways in which Azizun Nisa claims political subjectivity, the article engages with the issues that continue to animate the women's movement today. Citizenship for women, then, the article argues, traverses precarious grounds between exclusion and inclusion on terms of conformity.
Violence, Employment and Citizenship
Authors: Salgaonkar Seema P.
Published: March 2007

Political and socio-economic life in Goa manifests several paradoxes, which raise significant questions pertaining to the nature of patriarchy in a post-colonial society. The existence of a Uniform Civil Code in Goa, its small size, which makes for relative proximity between the people and their representatives, and progressive social legislation especially in the fields of education and health, have generally contributed towards relatively equal conditions of citizenship for women in the state. A puzzling paradox emerges, however, when one explores the forms of violence that the development patterns and the attendant structural asymmetries bring in their wake, giving rise to newer forms of gender injustice. This article explores one aspect of that asymmetry—the violence experienced by women in the unorganised sector in the course of their work. It argues that while violence is integral to their work, it goes unnoticed. These women are, therefore, doubly disadvantaged, as women and as workers, since they lack the organisational support and the grievance redress mechanisms that are available to women workers in the organised sector.
Citizenship Rights of Women in Jammu and Kashmir
Authors: Singh Jasbir , Vohra Anupama
Published: March 2007

The Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly passed by voice vote the Permanent Residents (Disqualification) Bill, 2004, commonly known as the Daughters’ Bill, on 5 March 2004. The Bill seeks to deprive daughters of permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir of their permanent resident status, and the rights and privileges associated with it, if they choose to marry persons who are not state subjects. Through an examination of the trajectory of the Bill, and the legal and judicial discourses surrounding it, this article argues that while seeking to preserve the specificity of the state of Jammu and Kashmir, the Bill creates a gendered hierarchy of citizens, making women's citizenship conditional and dependent on their status upon marriage. The article also identifies the contours of contest around the notion of the state subject and the issue of domicile to show how layers of exclusion have historically accumulated around them.
Spontaneous improvement of hematologic abnormalities in patients having juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia with specific RAS mutations
Authors: Matsuda Kazuyuki , Shimada Akira , Yoshida Nao , Ogawa Atsushi , Watanabe Akihiro , Yajima Shuhei , Iizuka Susumu , Koike Kazutoshi , Yanai Fumio , Kawasaki Keiichiro , Yanagimachi Masakatsu , Kikuchi Akira , Ohtsuka Yoshitoshi , Hidaka Eiko , Yamauchi Kazuyoshi , Tanaka Miyuki , Yanagisawa Ryu , Nakazawa Yozo , Shiohara Masaaki , Manabe Atsushi , Kojima Seiji , Koike Kenichi
Published: March 2007

Of 11 children with juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML) carrying RAS mutations (8 with NRAS mutations, 3 with KRAS2 mutations), 5 had a profound elevation in either or both the white blood cells and spleen size at diagnosis. Three patients had no or modest hepatosplenomegaly and mild leukocytosis at presentation but subsequently showed a marked increase in spleen size with or without hematologic exacerbation, for which nonintensive chemotherapy was initiated. The other three patients with NRAS or KRAS2 glycine to serine substitution received no chemotherapy, but hematologic improvement has been observed during a 2- to 4-year follow up. In the third group, all hematopoietic cell lineages analyzed had the RAS mutations at the time of hematologic improvement, whereas DNA obtained from the nails had the wild type. Additionally, numbers of circulating granulocyte-macrophage progenitors were significantly reduced during the clinical course. Thus, some patients with JMML with specific RAS mutations may have spontaneously improving disease.
A new classification of HLA-DRB1 alleles differentiates predisposing and protective alleles for autoantibody production in rheumatoid arthritis
Authors: Gourraud Pierre-Antoine , Dieudé Philippe , Boyer Jean-Frédéric , Nogueira Leonor , Cambon-Thomsen Anne , Mazières Bernard , Cornélis François , Serre Guy , Cantagrel Alain , Constantin Arnaud
Published: March 2007

The HLA-DRB1 gene was reported to be associated with anticitrullinated protein/peptide autoantibody (ACPA) production in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. A new classification of HLA-DRB1 alleles, reshaping the shared epitope (SE) hypothesis, was recently found relevant in terms of RA susceptibility and structural severity.

We investigated the relevance of this new classification of HLA-DRB1 SE+ alleles in terms of rheumatoid factor (RF) and ACPA production in a sample of French RA patients.

We studied 160 early RA patients included in a prospective longitudinal cohort of French Caucasian patients with recent-onset arthritis. RF, anticyclic citrullinated peptide 2 (anti-CCP2) and antideiminated human fibrinogen autoantibodies (AhFibA) were assessed in all patients at inclusion. The HLA-DRB1 gene was typed by PCR-sequence specific oligonucleotides probes (PCR-SSOP), and SE+ alleles were classified into four groups (S1, S2, S3P, S3D) according to the new classification.

The new classification of HLA-DRB1 SE+ alleles distinguishes predisposing and protective alleles for RF, anti-CCP2 or AhFibA production. The presence of S2 or S3P alleles is associated with both RF, anti-CCP2 or AhFibA positivity, whereas the presence of S3D or S1 alleles appears to be protective for RF, anti-CCP2 or AhFibA positivity.

The new classification of HLA-DRB1 SE+ alleles is relevant in terms of autoantibody production in early RA patients by differentiating predisposing and protective alleles for RF or ACPA production.
Pharmacological treatment of post-traumatic stress
disorder
Authors: Bisson Jonathan I.
Published: March 2007

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) causes significant distress and is
often associated with markedly reduced functioning. Recent reviews have
consistently recommended trauma-focused psychological therapies as a
first-line treatment for PTSD. Pharmacological treatments have also been
recommended but not as consistently. This article reviews the available
trials of the pharmacological treatment of PTSD and discusses their
implications.
Depiction of intellectual disability in fiction
Authors: Iyer Anupama
Published: March 2007

I explore some of the ways in which intellectual disability (learning disability) is depicted in fiction. My premise is that literature both reflects and shapes societal attitudes to people in this vulnerable minority group. People with intellectual disabilities are seldom able to determine, confirm or counter narratives about themselves. This situation, in which the subject is fundamentally unable to participate in their representation, raises unique ethical considerations. I use examples from various English-language novels to discuss how subjective accounts, observable behaviours and physical attributes are all employed to characterise people with intellectual disabilities.
Cognitive–behavioural therapy with older people
Authors: Evans Ceri
Published: March 2007

Cognitive–behavioural therapy (CBT) is an effective treatment for a number of psychiatric disorders in adults of all ages. With the proportion of the population aged 65 or over increasing steadily, it is important to be aware of how the CBT needs of this age group can be best met. This article provides an overview of CBT and the historical context of using it with older people. Although an understanding of the individual, irrespective of age, is at the core of CBT, potential modifications to the procedure and content aimed at optimising its effectiveness for older people are discussed.
Risk of major adverse perinatal outcomes in women with eating disorders
Authors: Micali Nadia , Simonoff Emily , Treasure Janet
Published: March 2007

Background

Low birth weight, prematurity and higher miscarriage rates have previously been reported in women with eating disorders.

Aims

To determine whether women with a history of eating disorders are at higher risk of major adverse perinatal outcomes.

Methods

Adjusted birth weight, preterm delivery and miscarriage history were compared in those with a history of eating disorders (anorexia nervosa (n=171), bulimia nervosa (n=199) and both (n=82)) and those with other (n=1166) and no psychiatric disorders (n=10 636) in a longitudinal cohort study.

Results

The group with bulimia nervosa had significantly higher rates of past miscarriages (relative risk ratio 2.0,P=0.01) and the group with anorexia nervosa delivered babies of significantly lower birth weight than the general population (P=0.01), which was mainly explained by lower pre-pregnancy body mass index. Preterm delivery rates were comparable across groups.

Conclusions

Women with a history of eating disorders are at higher risk of major adverse obstetric outcomes. Antenatal services should be aware of this higher risk.