bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Allergen-Induced Accumulation of CD68–,CD123+ Dendritic Cells in the Nasal Mucosa
Authors: Ekman Anna-Karin , Erjefält Jonas S. , Jansson Lennart , Cardell Lars-Olaf
Published: January 2011

Background: Dendritic cells are antigen-presenting cells central to the immune system. They activate and orchestrate the innate and the adaptive immune systems. This phenotypically diverse group can be further divided into 2 subsets, the CD11c+ myeloid dendritic cells (mDCs) and the CD123+ plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs). The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of allergen exposure on dendritic cells in subjects with allergic rhinitis. Methods: Atopic and non-atopic subjects were challenged intranasally with birch or timothy allergen. Nasal biopsies were taken before and 24 h after challenge, and were, after CD68 exclusion, stained for expression of CD11c and CD123 to identify dendritic cell subsets. The effect of allergic mediators on CD68–,CD123+ cells was studied with flow cytometry analysis in peripheral blood. Results: The amount of CD68–,CD123+ cells increased in the nasal sub-epithelium upon allergen challenge, whereas the number of CD68–,CD11c+ cells was unaffected. In vitro study of the effect of inflammatory mediators on pDC phenotype showed an increased activation in response TNF-α, IL-4 and CpG. Furthermore, TNF-α caused a higher activation among atopic than non-atopic subjects. Conclusions: An increased number of CD68–,CD123+ dendritic cells along with the positive pDC response following stimulation with inflammatory mediators suggest that the increased pDCs may be of an activated phenotype. It also suggests that the inflammatory response by pDCs to mediators such as TNF-α may be markedly higher in atopic subjects. These data support the notion of pDCs as important participants in allergic rhinitis.
Follow-Up of Children with Celiac Disease – Lost in Translation?
Authors: Mozer-Glassberg Yael , Zevit Noam , Rosenbach Yoram , Hartman Corina , Morgenstern Sara , Shamir Raanan
Published: January 2011

Background: Celiac disease (CD) is a prevalent condition with a broad spectrum of presentations requiring a lifelong gluten-free diet (GFD). Our aims were to examine the presentation and adherence to a GFD as well as the adequacy of follow-up of children diagnosed with CD at a tertiary referral center. Methods: A retrospective electronic chart review of pediatric patients suspected of CD (n = 581) who were seen at our institute between January 1999 and December 2008 was performed. Results: 387 children were diagnosed with CD (F/M ratio of 1.54, median age: 6.25 years). Presenting symptoms were iron deficiency anemia (n = 82, 34%), short stature (n = 59, 24.5%) and abdominal pain (n = 59, 24.5%). In 63 patients (16.3%) an associated autoimmune disease was recorded. Only 42.7% of the patients (165/387) had regular out-patient gastroenterologist visits; 22% (86/387) were followed by their primary care physician. Over 35% (136/387) were completely lost to follow-up. Negative serology on follow-up was present in 91% of the CD patients(150/165) followed at our center in comparison to 70% (60/86) in those followed up by their primary physician (p = 0.0002). Conclusions: At least in our referral center, follow-up of children diagnosed with CD is far from satisfactory. Initiatives aimed at improving adherence to regular follow-up are needed as this intervention is associated with a significant increase in patient compliance with a long-term GFD.
Effect of Oral Prednisolone on Esophageal Stricture after Complete Circular Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection for Superficial Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Case Report
Authors: Yamaguchi Naoyuki , Isomoto Hajime , Shikuwa Saburo , Nakayama Toshiyuki , Hayashi Tomayoshi , Ohnita Ken , Takeshima Fuminao , Kohno Shigeru , Nakao Kazuhiko
Published: January 2011

A 74-year-old man with nausea underwent upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, and a 0-IIb type tumor was found in the middle thoracic esophagus. Histological examination with endoscopic biopsies revealed squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), and chromoendoscopy with iodine staining revealed that the superficial SCC involved nearly the entire circumference of the esophageal lumen. There were neither nodal nor distant metastases. Complete circular endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) was successfully achieved with tumor-free margins in an en bloc fashion. The histopathological examination confirmed a diagnosis of intramucosal invasive carcinoma limited to the lamina propria mucosae without angiolymphatic invasion. Oral prednisolone was started with 0.5 mg/kg daily on the 3rd post-ESD day, tapered gradually, and then discontinued 8 weeks later without adverse effects. There were no complaints of dysphagia following ESD. On follow-up endoscopy with iodine staining, which was scheduled at 1, 3 and 6 months after ESD, there was no postprocedural esophageal stricture, and neither recurrent nor metachronous lesions were found. Thus, the patient required no sessions of endoscopic balloon dilatation. At the last outpatient clinic visit 7 months after ESD, he remained well without dysphagia. Oral prednisolone administration may offer an effective therapeutic strategy to prevent the post-ESD esophageal stricture after complete circular ESD.
Selection of Housekeeping Genes for Gene Expression Studies in a Rat Model of Irinotecan-Induced Mucositis
Authors: Al-Dasooqi Noor , Bowen Joanne M. , Gibson Rachel J. , Logan Richard M. , Stringer Andrea M. , Keefe Dorothy M.
Published: January 2011

Background/Aims: Mucositis is the term used to describe damage caused by chemotherapy to mucous membranes of the alimentary tract. RT-PCR has recently been utilised to determine the molecular events that occur in mucositis. As this method relies on the use of a validated endogenous control, this study aims to validate commonly used housekeeping genes in an irinotecan-induced mucositis model. Methods: Rats were administered irinotecan and sacrificed at different time points, in particular 1, 24, 72 and 144 h following treatment. Histopathological damage was assessed by haematoxylin and eosin staining. RT-PCR was used to evaluate the expression of 11 housekeeping genes. Expression stability was determined by the Normfinder program. Matrix metalloproteinase 2 was used as a target gene to validate the appropriateness of the top-ranking housekeeping gene. Results: For normalisation to multiple housekeeping genes, the most stable combination across all time points in the jejunum was Ywhaz/UBC and in the colon UBC/β-actin. SDHA and GAPDH were the most variable genes in the jejunum and colon where they were 4.4 and 3.2 fold upregulated following irinotecan, respectively. Conclusions: For normalisation of irinotecan-induced mucositis gene expression studies, a combination of Ywhaz/UBC and UBC/β-actin should be used in the jejunum and colon, respectively. UBC is the most favourable if restricted to a single housekeeping gene across all time points.
Mycophenolic Acid Inhibits Replication of Japanese Encephalitis Virus
Authors: Sebastian Liba , Madhusudana Shampur Narayan , Ravi Vasanthapuram , Desai Anita
Published: January 2011

Background: Japanese encephalitis is a major public health problem in several parts of Asia, particularly India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Myanmar (Burma). Despite its public health implications, there are no effective antiviral drugs available. Methods: The present study evaluated the effect of mycophenolic acid on Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) using an in vitro cytopathic effect inhibition assay, plaque reduction assay and virus yield reduction assay, and its therapeutic potential was also assessed in vivo in a mouse model. Results: Analysis of the results obtained in the in vitro and in vivo experiments suggests that mycophenolic acid has significant antiviral activity against JEV, with an IC50 of 3.1 µg/ml, a therapeutic index of 16 and a 75% protection against lethal challenge of JEV. Conclusion: The study concludes that this compound significantly inhibited the replication of JEV in vitro and protected mice in vivo.
Pharmacokinetics and Tissue Distribution of Dual-Targeting Daunorubicin Liposomes in Mice
Authors: Ying Xue , Wen He , Yao Hong-Juan , Zhang Yan , Tian Wei , Zhang Liang , Ju Rui-Jun , Wang Xiao-Xing , Yu Yang , Lu Wan-Liang
Published: January 2011

Background: To circumvent the problem of transporting anticancer drugs across the blood-brain barrier (BBB) to target brain tumors, we have previously developed dual-targeting daunorubicin liposomes modified with 4-aminophenyl-α-D-manno-pyranoside and transferrin molecules. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the pharmacokinetics and distribution of daunorubicin after intravenous administration of dual-targeting daunorubicin liposomes. Methods: We evaluated pharmacological parameters in normal KunMing mice. Drug concentrations in plasma, heart, spleen, lung, kidney and brain were measured using HPLC-UV. Results: The plasma drug concentration-time profile of the daunorubicin dual-targeting liposomes decreased more slowly than free daunorubicin in the initial phase and maintained higher drug levels in the terminal phase, resulting in longer blood exposure to daunorubicin liposomes compared with the free drug. Daunorubicin levels were lower in heart tissue and significantly higher in brain tissue after administration of the dual-targeting liposomes compared with the free drug. Daunorubicin was detected at varying levels in the liver, spleen, lung and kidney tissues. Conclusion: Our results indicate that dual-targeting daunorubicin liposomes improve the daunorubicin blood circulation time and show an enhanced drug transport potential across the BBB.
Serological Profiles of Urate, Paraoxonase-1, Ferritin and Lipid in Parkinson’s Disease: Changes Linked to Disease Progression
Authors: Ikeda Ken , Nakamura Yoshikazu , Kiyozuka Tetsuhito , Aoyagi Joe , Hirayama Takehisa , Nagata Riya , Ito Hirono , Iwamoto Konosuke , Murata Kiyoko , Yoshii Yasuhiro , Kawabe Kiyokazu , Iwasaki Yasuo
Published: January 2011

Background: Oxidative stress plays a role in the pathogenesis of neuronal death. Serum levels of urate or lipid were associated with the incidence of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Objective: We compared urate, paraoxonase-1 (PON1), iron, ferritin and lipid in sera of 119 PD patients and 120 healthy controls matched by age, sex and body mass index. We aimed to elucidate whether those serological data are correlated with disease progression. Results: Mean age (SD) of PD patients was 73.4 (8.7) years. Mean Yahr stage (SD) was 3.2 (0.9). Mean disease duration (SD) was 6.9 (5.1) years. Mean dose of L-DOPA (SD) was 355 (157) mg/day. As compared to controls, serum levels of total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), urate and PON1 activity were significantly reduced, and serum ferritin levels were significantly increased in male and female PD patients. Serum urate levels and PON1 activities were inversely related, and serum ferritin levels were correlated with Yahr stage and PD duration in men and women. Serum levels of TC and LDL-C were inversely related to Yahr stage or PD duration in female patients. Conclusions: Our studies indicated serological profiles of urate, PON1, ferritin, TC and LDL-C in PD patients. These serological changes were linked to PD progression. Metabolism of lipid, oxidant- and antioxidant-related substances may contribute to the pathogenesis and the progression of PD.
Paracetamol Fails to Positively Modulate and Directly Activate Chloride Currents in Human α1-Glycine Receptors
Authors: de la Roche Jeanne , Buchholz Vanessa , Dengler Reinhard , Haeseler Gertrud , Leuwer Martin , Ahrens Jörg
Published: January 2011

Paracetamol (acetaminophen) is a widely used antipyretic and analgesic drug for mild or moderate pain states. As the primary site of action of paracetamol is still the subject of ongoing discussion, the focus of this study is the investigation of a potential mechanism which might contribute to its beneficial effects in the therapy of pain. Loss of inhibitory synaptic transmission within the dorsal horn of the spinal cord plays a key role in the development of pain following inflammation or nerve injury. Inhibitory postsynaptic transmission in the adult spinal cord involves mainly glycine. In this study we investigated the interaction of paracetamol with strychnine-sensitive α1-glycine receptors (α1-GlyR). α1-GlyR subunits transiently expressed in HEK-293 cells were studied using the whole-cell patch-clamp technique and a piezo-controlled liquid filament fast application system. Paracetamol fails to show a positive allosteric modulatory effect in low nano- to micromolar concentrations and lacks direct activation in micromolar concentrations at the α1-GlyR. Consequently, the analgesic actions of paracetamol leading to pain relief appear to be mediated via other mechanisms, but not via activation of spinal glycinergic pathways.
Endothelin-1 and Nitric Oxide Levels in Patients with Glaucoma
Authors: Ghanem Asaad A. , Elewa Ahmed M. , Arafa Lmiaa F.
Published: January 2011

Aims: To investigate the levels of endothelin-1 (ET-1) and nitric oxide (NO) in the aqueous humor and plasma of human eyes with different types of glaucoma: primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) and chronic closed-angle glaucoma (CCAG). Methods: Patients were classified into 3 groups: group I comprised 35 patients with POAG, group II comprised 25 patients with CCAG, and 30 patients with senile cataract (group III) were used as a control group. Aqueous humor and corresponding plasma were analyzed for ET-1 and NO concentrations by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. A Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons was performed. Results: There was no significant difference in plasma levels of either ET-1 or NO metabolites between the groups studied. ET-1 and NO were significantly elevated in the aqueous humor of patients with CCAG and POAG compared to the corresponding value in patients with cataract (p < 0.001). ET-1 and NO concentrations in the aqueous humor were more marked in CCAG than in POAG. NO levels were correlated with ET-1 in the aqueous humor of patients with glaucoma (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Increased concentrations of ET-1 and NO in aqueous humor may be useful with POAG and CCAG. In addition, ET-1 and NO may have useful metabolite levels in the aqueous humor of POAG and CCAG patients as a result of glaucoma damage and may not be a cause of it.
The Montreal Cognitive Assessment and the Mini-Mental State Examination as Screening Instruments for Cognitive Impairment: Item Analyses and Threshold Scores
Authors: Damian Anne M. , Jacobson Sandra A. , Hentz Joseph G. , Belden Christine M. , Shill Holly A. , Sabbagh Marwan N. , Caviness John N. , Adler Charles H.
Published: January 2011

Aims: To perform an item analysis of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) versus the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) in the prediction of cognitive impairment, and to examine the characteristics of different MoCA threshold scores. Methods: 135 subjects enrolled in a longitudinal clinicopathologic study were administered the MoCA by a single physician and the MMSE by a trained research assistant. Subjects were classified as cognitively impaired or cognitively normal based on independent neuropsychological testing. Results: 89 subjects were found to be cognitively normal, and 46 cognitively impaired (20 with dementia, 26 with mild cognitive impairment). The MoCA was superior in both sensitivity and specificity to the MMSE, although not all MoCA tasks were of equal predictive value. A MoCA threshold score of 26 had a sensitivity of 98% and a specificity of 52% in this population. In a population with a 20% prevalence of cognitive impairment, a threshold of 24 was optimal (negative predictive value 96%, positive predictive value 47%). Conclusion: This analysis suggests the potential for creating an abbreviated MoCA. For screening in primary care, the MoCA threshold of 26 appears optimal. For testing in a memory disorders clinic, a lower threshold has better predictive value.
Obestatin: A New Element for Mineral Metabolism and Inflammation in Patients on Hemodialysis
Authors: Lacquaniti Antonio , Bolignano Davide , Donato Valentina , Chirico Valeria , Romeo Adolfo , Loddo Saverio , Buemi Michele
Published: January 2011

Background: Obestatin plays a key role in the process of energy balance maintenance with an anorectic effect. The main aim of the study was to evaluate obestatin in uremic patients to determine whether it is correlated with nutritional and inflammatory status. Methods: We studied plasma obestatin in uremic patients (n = 50) undergoing hemodialysis therapy and in healthy subjects. Plasma obestatin was measured using an ELISA kit. Results: Obestatin levels in uremic patients were lower than in healthy subjects (p < 0.0001). Patients with a body mass index (BMI) >23 had lower obestatin levels than those with a BMI <23 (p = 0.001). After multivariate analysis, direct correlations were maintained between obestatin and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (β = 0.68, p < 0.0001) and total alkaline phosphatases (β = 0.30, p = 0.03), while inverse correlations were found with iron (β = –0.32, p = 0.002) and calcium-phosphorous product (β = –0.40, p = 0.001). Conclusions: Based on the present observational data, obestatin might be implicated in the inflammatory state and the disturbances of calcium/phosphate metabolism of hemodialysis patients. However, further studies are warranted to determine whether this hormone plays a key role in contributing to malnutrition and to the chronic inflammatory process.
Multi-Objective Reliability-Based Optimization with Stochastic Metamodels
Authors: Coelho Rajan Filomeno , Bouillard Philippe
Published: January 2011

This paper addresses continuous optimization problems with multiple objectives and parameter uncertainty defined by probability distributions. First, a reliability-based formulation is proposed, defining the nondeterministic Pareto set as the minimal solutions such that user-defined probabilities of nondominance and constraint satisfaction are guaranteed. The formulation can be incorporated with minor modifications in a multiobjective evolutionary algorithm (here: the nondominated sorting genetic algorithm-II). Then, in the perspective of applying the method to large-scale structural engineering problems—for which the computational effort devoted to the optimization algorithm itself is negligible in comparison with the simulation—the second part of the study is concerned with the need to reduce the number of function evaluations while avoiding modification of the simulation code. Therefore, nonintrusive stochastic metamodels are developed in two steps. First, for a given sampling of the deterministic variables, a preliminary decomposition of the random responses (objectives and constraints) is performed through polynomial chaos expansion (PCE), allowing a representation of the responses by a limited set of coefficients. Then, a metamodel is carried out by kriging interpolation of the PCE coefficients with respect to the deterministic variables. The method has been tested successfully on seven analytical test cases and on the 10-bar truss benchmark, demonstrating the potential of the proposed approach to provide reliability-based Pareto solutions at a reasonable computational cost.
Representations and Evolutionary Operators for the Scheduling of Pump Operations in Water Distribution Networks
Authors: López-Ibáñez Manuel , Prasad T. Devi , Paechter Ben
Published: January 2011

Reducing the energy consumption of water distribution networks has never had more significance. The greatest energy savings can be obtained by carefully scheduling the operations of pumps. Schedules can be defined either implicitly, in terms of other elements of the network such as tank levels; or explicitly, by specifying the time during which each pump is on/off. The traditional representation of explicit schedules is a string of binary values with each bit representing pump on/off status during a particular time interval. In this paper, we formally define and analyze two new explicit representations based on time-controlled triggers, where the maximum number of pump switches is established beforehand and the schedule may contain fewer than the maximum number of switches. In these representations, a pump schedule is divided into a series of integers with each integer representing the number of hours for which a pump is active/inactive. This reduces the number of potential schedules compared to the binary representation, and allows the algorithm to operate on the feasible region of the search space. We propose evolutionary operators for these two new representations. The new representations and their corresponding operations are compared with the two most-used representations in pump scheduling, namely, binary representation and level-controlled triggers. A detailed statistical analysis of the results indicates which parameters have the greatest effect on the performance of evolutionary algorithms. The empirical results show that an evolutionary algorithm using the proposed representations is an improvement over the results obtained by a recent state of the art hybrid genetic algorithm for pump scheduling using level-controlled triggers.
Electrophysiological Evidence for Biased Competition in V1 for Fear Expressions
Authors: West Greg L. , Anderson Adam A. K. , Ferber Susanne , Pratt Jay
Published: January 2011

When multiple stimuli are concurrently displayed in the visual field, they must compete for neural representation at the processing expense of their contemporaries. This biased competition is thought to begin as early as primary visual cortex, and can be driven by salient low-level stimulus features. Stimuli important for an organism's survival, such as facial expressions signaling environmental threat, might be similarly prioritized at this early stage of visual processing. In the present study, we used ERP recordings from striate cortex to examine whether fear expressions can bias the competition for neural representation at the earliest stage of retinotopic visuo-cortical processing when in direct competition with concurrently presented visual information of neutral valence. We found that within 50 msec after stimulus onset, information processing in primary visual cortex is biased in favor of perceptual representations of fear at the expense of competing visual information (Experiment 1). Additional experiments confirmed that the facial display's emotional content rather than low-level features is responsible for this prioritization in V1 (Experiment 2), and that this competition is reliant on a face's upright canonical orientation (Experiment 3). These results suggest that complex stimuli important for an organism's survival can indeed be prioritized at the earliest stage of cortical processing at the expense of competing information, with competition possibly beginning before encoding in V1.
Working Memory Encoding Delays Top–Down Attention to Visual Cortex
Authors: Scalf Paige E. , Dux Paul E. , Marois René
Published: January 2011

The encoding of information from one event into working memory can delay high-level, central decision-making processes for subsequent events [e.g., Jolicoeur, P., & Dell'Acqua, R. The demonstration of short-term consolidation. Cognitive Psychology, 36, 138–202, 1998, doi:10.1006/cogp.1998.0684]. Working memory, however, is also believed to interfere with the deployment of top–down attention [de Fockert, J. W., Rees, G., Frith, C. D., & Lavie, N. The role of working memory in visual selective attention. Science, 291, 1803–1806, 2001, doi:10.1126/science.1056496]. It is, therefore, possible that, in addition to delaying central processes, the engagement of working memory encoding (WME) also postpones perceptual processing as well. Here, we tested this hypothesis with time-resolved fMRI by assessing whether WME serially postpones the action of top–down attention on low-level sensory signals. In three experiments, participants viewed a skeletal rapid serial visual presentation sequence that contained two target items (T1 and T2) separated by either a short (550 msec) or long (1450 msec) SOA. During single-target runs, participants attended and responded only to T1, whereas in dual-target runs, participants attended and responded to both targets. To determine whether T1 processing delayed top–down attentional enhancement of T2, we examined T2 BOLD response in visual cortex by subtracting the single-task waveforms from the dual-task waveforms for each SOA. When the WME demands of T1 were high (Experiments 1 and 3), T2 BOLD response was delayed at the short SOA relative to the long SOA. This was not the case when T1 encoding demands were low (Experiment 2). We conclude that encoding of a stimulus into working memory delays the deployment of attention to subsequent target representations in visual cortex.
Workerism and Politics
Authors: Tronti Mario
Published: January 2011

This is the text of Mario Tronti’s lecture at the 2006 Historical Materialism conference. It provides a brief, evocative synopsis of Tronti’s understanding of the historical experience and contemporary relevance of operaismo, a theoretical and practical attempt, embodied in journals such as Quaderni Rossi and Classe Operaia, to renew Marxist thought and politics in the Italy of the 1960s through a renewed attention to class-antagonism and the changing composition of labour.
Editorial Introduction
Authors: Blackledge Paul
Published: January 2011

Lars Lih’s study of Lenin’s What Is to Be Done? demolishes the shared liberal and Stalinist myth of Leninism as an ice-cold ideology of professional and opportunistic revolutionary organisation. He conclusively shows, not only that Lenin’s thought had deep roots in the democratic culture of contemporary Marxism, but also that it was predicated upon a strong belief in the revolutionary potential of the working class. Lih’s research thus moves the debate about Lenin’s contribution to Marxism on from the tired caricatures of the textbooks to focus instead upon his complex relationship to the Marxism of the Second International. By showing that Lenin’s Marxism was much more sophisticated and textured than is normally allowed, this debate opens his rich legacy to contemporary re-evaluation.1
Reconsidering Lenin: What Can Be Said about What Is to Be Done?
Authors: Suny Ronald Grigor
Published: January 2011

Lars Lih’s explication of the intended meaning of Lenin’s What Is to Be Done? is not only the most sophisticated to date, it is also unlikely to be surpassed in the foreseeable future. Lih’s portrayal of Lenin as a democratic ‘Erfurtian’ Marxist undoubtedly poses a powerful challenge to those would suggest that Stalinism can be deduced from the arguments of the book. Nonetheless, there exists contemporary evidence to suggest that not only Mensheviks but also some Bolsheviks interpreted Lenin in a way not too dissimilar from what Lih calls the ‘textbook-interpretation’.
One Step Forward, Two Steps Back: On Lars Lih’s Lenin
Authors: Mayer Robert
Published: January 2011

Lars Lih’s Lenin Rediscovered seeks to replace the textbook-myth of Leninism with a painstaking reconstruction of ‘Lenin’s Erfurtian drama’. That reconstruction is more accurate than the Lenin-myth, but Lih’s step forward is marred by two steps back. One is his account of Lenin’s ‘worry about workers’. The other is Lih’s new translation of What Is to Be Done?.
Lenin Rediscovered?
Authors: Harman Chris
Published: January 2011

By framing Lenin’s thought squarely within the mainstream of classical Marxism, Lars Lih’s Lenin Rediscovered acts as a powerful contribution to rescuing Lenin’s Marxism from the condescension of the ‘textbook-interpretation’ of Leninism. However, the power of Lih’s book is weakened by a failure to grasp the slippage between what Kautsky wrote and the various ways in which his writings were interpreted within the Second International. While Lenin attempted to apply lessons from the German Social-Democratic Party to Russian conditions, so too did his opponents within the Russian socialist movement. The actual degree of difference between what Lenin did and what Kautsky wrote became fully apparent only after the events of 1914 and 1917.
Text and Context in the Argument of Lenin’s What Is to Be Done?
Authors: Shandro Alan
Published: January 2011

Lars Lih’s Lenin Rediscovered aims to overthrow what he labels the textbook-myth of Leninism through a comprehensive reconstruction of Lenin’s relationship, both to the Kautskyite orthodoxy that dominated the international socialist movement, and more local polemics. While the resulting rereading of Lenin’s early Marxism is a powerful counter to the ‘textbook-interpretation’ of Leninism, Lih has perhaps ‘bent the stick’ too far in an attempt to prove Lenin’s orthodoxy. Importantly, he misconstrues Lenin’s critique of ‘economism’ through a too-narrow reading of ‘economism’. Lih would have been better served to recognise the importance of Lenin’s polemic as an attempt, not simply to paint his opponents on the Russian Left as ‘economists’, but, more importantly, to grasp the organic nature of reformism and thus the true scale of the difficulties involved in challenging its hegemony within the workers’ movement.
Rediscovering Lenin
Authors: Le Blanc Paul
Published: January 2011

Lenin Rediscovered is an important and powerful contribution to our understanding of Lenin’s Marxism. However, it is also flawed by an attempt to push too far the claim that Lenin was a consistent ‘Erfurtian’ or Second-International Marxist. The dynamics of a mass political party and social movement are very different from even the most representative theoretician. The reality of German Social Democracy was certainly more problematic than what Lenin was able to glean from the very best of Kautsky’s writings. This became apparent to Lenin in 1914, when he recognised that he had been building a very different kind of party from the actual SPD. It may be possible that the SPD and the RSDLP (Bolsheviks) were both ‘parties of a new type,’ but it is also clear that they were not parties of the same type. There was much that Lenin had in common with Kautsky and Bebel ‐ but he was doing something that was, in important ways, quite different.
Latin American Neostructuralism: The Contradictions of Post-Neoliberal Development, Fernando Ignacio Leiva, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2008
Authors: Webber Jeffery R.
Published: January 2011

This review-essay offers an extended engagement with Fernando Ignacio Leiva’s Latin American Neostructuralism, one of the most important contributions to contemporary Latin-American political economy. It situates Leiva’s critique of neostructuralism against the wider backdrop of Latin America’s contradictory turn to the Left since the late 1990s, and compares the treatments of change in Latin-American capitalism over the course of the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries developed by the schools of classical structuralism, neostructuralism, and neoliberalism. The essay finds that Leiva’s critique of neostructuralism and his explanation for its influence on large segments of the region’s Left is the best work on the topic currently available in English. Leiva systematically demolishes neostructuralism’s claim to be a progressive alternative to neoliberalism. At the same time, it is argued that Leiva’s theoretical framework is compromised by its uncritical adoption of categories from French regulation-theory, and its nostalgia for elements of classical structuralism and its associated development-model of import-substitution industrialisation. Further, it is found that Leiva’s implicit attachment to certain myths propagated by the Marxism of the Second and, especially, Third Internationals regarding the national bourgeoisie’s role in Third-World capitalist development leaves him unduly dogmatic about the necessity, and unduly optimistic about the possibility, of building a progressive stage of capitalism in Latin America today. The same mythologies prevent Leiva from drawing the appropriate conclusions as regards the urgent necessity of rebuilding the socialist project in Latin America and internationally.
Dialectical Realism and Radical Commitments:Brecht and Adorno on Representing Capitalism
Authors: Ray Gene
Published: January 2011

Bertolt Brecht and Theodor W. Adorno stand for opposing modes and stances within an artistic modernism oriented toward radical social transformation. In his 1962 essay ‘Commitment’, Adorno advanced a biting critique of Brecht’s work and artistic position. Adorno’s arguments have often been dismissed but, surprisingly, are seldom closely engaged with. This paper assesses these two approaches that have been so central to twentieth-century debates in aesthetics: Brecht’s dialectical realism and Adorno’s sublime or dissonant modernism. It provides what still has been missing: a close reading and immanent critique of Adorno’s case against Brecht. And it clarifies one methodological blind spot of Adorno’s formalist conceptualisation of autonomy: he fails to provide the detailed analysis of context that his own dialectical method immanently calls for. The paper shows how and why Brecht’s dialectical realism holds up under Adorno’s attack, and draws conclusions for contemporary artistic practice.
Lenin Disputed
Authors: Lih Lars T.
Published: January 2011

Critical discussion of Lenin’s What Is to Be Done? is hindered by a series of historical myths. Issues such as the following need to be studied more empirically and more critically: Did the attitudes of early readers of WITBD? reflect Lenin’s alleged ‘worry about workers’? Did the events of 1905 cause Lenin to renounce his earlier views about the workers and about party-organisation, giving rise to disputes with Bolshevik activists? Did either Lenin or Trotsky ever rethink and reject the ideological positions that Karl Kautsky defended before World-War I? These and related issues are addressed with close attention to source-material.
The Words of Ina Beasley: Glimpses from a Life in British Sudan
Authors: Abusharaf Rogaia Mustafa
Published: January 2011

This essay presents a woman whose ideas not only signifies a challenge to conventional approaches to the relationship between colonialism and feminism, but also enables us to appreciate the intricacies and diversities of colonial experiences and the multiple roles played by individuals who wielded some level of authority in a colonised society. Since this essay is a tribute to Ina Beasley, it reproduces substantial excerpts from her papers on the subjects that engaged her most deeply during her Sudan service. Her writings shed new light on the social history of human rights during the Condominium, which matters both to scholars and to concerned citizens. In recognition of Ina Beasley, who devoted her life to improving the lives of women and children in a society rife with hardship and discriminatory practices, the essay addresses her work on education and its relevance to eradicating female circumcision that was universally practiced at the time. The essay begins with a brief discussion of Sudanese politics at the time of her arrival and then examines her work as educator who managed to craft several influential programs to empower women and girls. The rest of the paper focuses on her reproductive health advocacy as exemplified in a formidable body of work that articulated her activities and approaches to social rights.
Contact and Conflict Resolution: Examining the Extent to which Interpersonal Contact and Cooperation Can Affect the Management of International Conflicts1
Authors: Bercovitch Jacob , Chalfin Julie
Published: January 2011

Conflict between states, as well as between governments and non-state actors, continues to pose one of the most serious threats to individuals in the international community today. In an effort to reduce the destruction caused by these conflicts, a number of interventions, processes, and conflict management methods have been attempted. One of these methods involves facilitating conditions for positive contact between the disputants thus enabling them to develop a rapport of some sort. While this idea has received widespread theoretical support, there is little empirical analysis considering the benefits of such an approach. Here we examine how the context in which contact occurs can affect conflict management; we outline the assumptions that underpin conditions of the context, and discuss strategies, such as interactive problem solving, that have at their heart the goal of improving conditions of contact and communication as a prelude to conflict resolution. Our research goes beyond most studies, in that we subject the ideas of various conditions of contact and communication to an empirical test. We develop specific hypotheses on the role and relevance of the conditions of contact, and investigate the extent to which conflict management techniques can create positive conditions to contribute to conflict resolution. An original dataset including various conflict management techniques is examined to analyze our hypotheses. Findings indicate that factors such as the rank of a mediator and the type of conflict are more significant predictors of successful conflict management than the involvement of a third party facilitator. We examine both interstate conflicts and civil conflict to determine whether these different types should be managed differently.
Creating Space for Consensus: High-Level Globe-trotting into the Bali Climate Change Conference
Authors: Chasek Pamela S.
Published: January 2011

The international community has been trying to find a comprehensive and effective solution to the problem of anthropogenic climate change for well over two decades. The fundamental problem posed by climate change is that any solution, if it is to be effective, requires collectively agreed upon global initiatives. If enough countries do not take sufficient action, any collective endeavors to mitigate the problem will be less effective or may even fail. As a result, mitigating climate change requires a high level of international cooperation. In the climate change arena, negotiators spent much of 2007 searching for common ground and securing universal participation in a new global regime to take effect when the first commitment period under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change’s Kyoto Protocol expires at the end of 2012. This article examines one of the strategies used to address this challenge in the lead up to the December 2007 Climate Change Conference in Bali, Indonesia: a variation of track-two diplomacy, where climate change was addressed at numerous workshops and high-level meetings to enable parties to the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the 1997 Kyoto Protocol to create space for building trust and exploring innovative solutions in determining whether or not to embark on negotiations on a post-2012 regime.
Negotiating Free Association between Western Sahara and Morocco: A Comparative Legal Analysis of Formulas for Self-Determination
Authors: Spector Samuel J.
Published: January 2011

The proposal of new negotiation formulae in the midst of stalemated conflicts can help to reframe the problem and restart dialogue. They can also unleash new controversy. The Moroccan Initiative for Negotiating an Autonomy Statute for the Sahara Region is a formulaic proposal advanced by Morocco to describe the broad outlines for Sahrawi autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty. It has been the subject of debate within the international community since it was first introduced in April 2007. Until now, however, discussion of its efficacy as a formulaic basis for a negotiated resolution to the Western Sahara dispute has largely outweighed serious consideration of how the proposal relates to current understandings of international law concerning self-determination and free association. Like Western Sahara, the Cook Islands, Niue, Aceh, New Caledonia, and Bougainville are cases of non-self-governing territories and other high autonomy arrangements where there has been recognition of the need to substitute, as the basis for ending the conflict, a comprehensive negotiated political status, in place of frequently unworkable or unattractive alternatives such as a contentious referendum on independence, open-ended talks, or continued armed conflict. In light of the lessons learned from actual state practice and international responses in the foregoing cases, an assessment of the present Moroccan proposal demonstrates that with some improvements, it may offer a viable new starting point for negotiations. The result of using this plan as a formula to restart negotiations can be the attainment for Western Sahara of a full measure of self-government ‐ in a manner consistent with international law ‐ by means of free association.
Conclusion: Homage to I. William Zartman
Authors: Hopmann P. Terrence
Published: January 2011

This special issue of International Negotiation includes a range of studies and essays on the analysis of negotiation of contemporary conflicts that reflects the influence of I. William Zartman and his leadership of the Conflict Management Program at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. He introduced some of the most significant and enduring concepts that have guided theory building and empirical analysis of negotiations for at least the past four decades. In this issue, eight of his colleagues and former students have contributed their research ‐ applying many of Zartman’s concepts and frameworks.
‘Aviation Will Either Destroy or Save Our Civilization’: Proposals for the International Control of Aviation, 1920—45
Authors: Zaidi Waqar H.
Published: January 2011

Proposals for the internationalization of civil aviation and the formation of an international air force blossomed in Britain, France and the United States between 1920 and 1945. The proposals were promoted by liberal internationalist constituencies in these three countries and reveal an enthusiasm for technocracy and technology within liberal internationalism. Aviation, internationalists argued, was too dangerous and held too much potential to be left in the hands of warring nations. It should instead be controlled by an international organization for the benefit of international peace and prosperity. Proposals were linked to the League of Nations in the interwar period and to the proposed United Nations Organization during the second world war. They were discussed at the 1932 League of Nations Geneva disarmament conference, and in 1944, at the Dumbarton Oaks Conference and the Chicago conference on international civil aviation.
Industrial Diplomacy and Economic Integration: The Origins of All-European Paper Cartels, 1959—72
Authors: Jensen-Eriksen Niklas
Published: January 2011

Students of European integration have produced an enormous amount of literature on the intergovernmental negotiations that led to the establishment of such organizations as the OEEC, the EEC and EFTA. However, only a few have devoted substantial attention to the international contacts between companies that attempted to undermine the integration process by building private trade barriers that would replace those that governments had agreed to remove. The paper producers began to build such barriers soon after EFTA and the EEC had been set up. Although these attempts were not always successful, the industrialists did manage to create arrangements that were substantially more extensive in their geographical and product scope than those that had existed before. The British government and the EEC were reluctant to challenge these arrangements, and in some cases even actively promoted them. The interwar decades are widely considered to be the ‘golden era’ for international cartels; but for the paper cartels, the ‘golden era’ began in the 1960s, when previous bilateral links were replaced with multilateral ones.
Germany’s Postwar Re-education and Its Weimar Intellectual Roots
Authors: Greenberg Udi E.
Published: January 2011

During its occupation by the United States and throughout the 1950s, Germany experienced one of the most dramatic intellectual, cultural, and educational transformations in history. Historians have often observed the intrusion by the USA into German intellectual and institutional life as part of the USA’s overall plan to ‘re-educate’ Germany and to tie it to its own political traditions and Cold War goals. Through examination of the political theories and academic educational reforms of Carl J. Friedrich, one of the most important intellectuals of the Cold War, this article argues that US policies were simultaneously shaped and determined by intellectual traditions from the Weimar period. It shows how Friedrich’s educational theories, which had a tremendous influence on both US and German academic establishments after the war, were developed already in the context of the Weimar-era ‘Heidelberg School’ and the political theories of Max Weber. Through this example, the article seeks to offer a new and more complex picture of Germany’s postwar democratization in general.
The Need for West: Hans Kohn and the North Atlantic Community
Authors: Gordon Adi
Published: January 2011

In the writing of historian Hans Kohn (1891—1971) East and West were never geographic locations, but rather geographic metaphors. They were ideas, which served as his major tool of analysis throughout his career: in Habsburg Prague as a young spiritual Zionist; in Jerusalem in the 1920s as a ‘bi-national Zionist’; as comparative historian of nationalism as of the second world war; and finally as an American Cold Warrior. This article situates the evolution of Kohn’s notions of East and West in a primarily Jewish context, and toward a Cold War horizon. It also seeks to illuminate the genealogy of the ideas he propagated as a notable purveyor of Cold War ideology, particularly the need for a ‘New West’.
Cervicofacial Advancement‐Rotation Flap in Midface Reconstruction
Authors: Boyette Jennings R. , Vural Emre
Published: January 2011

Objective

To present the authors’ experience and outcomes in the reconstruction of midfacial defects using cervicofacial advancement‐rotation flaps (CARFs) based on a method of determining forward or reverse design in relation to the proportions of the defect.

Study Design

Case series with retrospective chart review.

Setting

Tertiary care academic medical center.

Subjects and Methods

Patients who underwent CARF reconstruction and the subset of patients with midfacial defects medial to the lateral canthus were included. CARF was designed in a forward fashion with an anteromedial movement for the defects with a larger vertical dimension and in a reverse fashion with a posterosuperior movement for the defects with a larger horizontal dimension.

Results

Thirteen of 45 patients who underwent CARF reconstruction qualified for the analysis as a subset based on defect location. CARF was used in a forward fashion in 7 patients and in a reverse fashion in 6 patients. The largest defect in this subset was measured as 9 × 6 cm, while the smallest defect was 3 × 2 cm. Average follow‐up was 11.5 months. None of the patients developed partial or total flap loss. Six patients had mild ectropion, which was managed with conservative measures only. The outcome of the reconstruction was satisfactory in all cases.

Conclusion

Designing the CARF based on the proportion of the vertical and horizontal diameters of the selected midfacial defects as described allows for closure of the defects with minimal tension and minimizes the amount of discarded healthy skin overlapping at the suture lines.