bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Simple Transfers, Complex Outcomes: The Impacts of Pensions on Poor Households in Brazil
Authors: Lloyd‐Sherlock Peter 
Published: August 2010

ABSTRACTDrawing on quantitative survey data and in‐depth interviews, this article seeks to map out the potential direct and indirect effects of simple cash transfers on households in impoverished rural and urban settings. Brazil is shown to have an extensive system of old age pensions, which affords almost universal coverage to households containing older people. These benefits have a significant impact on levels of poverty and vulnerability in recipient households. They also facilitate access to essential healthcare items, such as drugs, which are seldom freely available through the state health system. The in‐depth interviews reveal that pensions can have important effects on intra‐household relations, but these effects were not generalizable nor easily captured by quantitative survey tools. There was clear evidence that pensions reduced the propensity of older people to remain economically active, but this must be understood in a context of limited employment opportunities for all age groups and a high prevalence of disability. Overall, the article demonstrates the complex effects of a relatively simple cash transfer, which policy makers need to take into account.
Brazil's Bolsa Família: A Double‐Edged Sword?
Authors: Hall Anthony 
Published: August 2010

ABSTRACTIn common with most Latin American countries, as governments embrace safety nets to attack poverty, conditional cash transfer (CCT) programmes have become part of mainstream social policy in Brazil. Under president Fernando Henrique Cardoso (1995–2002), and especially since Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took office in 2003, targeted assistance in education, health and nutrition, now united under Bolsa Família, have expanded rapidly to benefit forty‐four million (24 per cent of the total population), absorbing almost two‐fifths of the social assistance budget earmarked for the poorest sectors. Despite its operational problems, Bolsa Família appears to have been effective in providing short‐term relief to some of the most deprived groups in Brazil. Yet it could prove to be a double‐edged sword. There is a risk that, due to its popularity among both the poor and Brazil's politicians, Bolsa Família could greatly increase patronage in the distribution of economic and social benefits and induce a strong dependence on government handouts. There are also early signs that it may be contributing to a reduction in social spending in key sectors such as education, housing and basic sanitation, possibly undermining the country's future social and economic development.
RELIGION AND MODERNITY  Living in the Hypercontext
Authors: Lovibond Sabina 
Published: August 2010

ABSTRACTThis paper discusses Jeffrey Stout's thesis that modern societies are “secular,” not in the sense that religion has disappeared from them, but in a procedural sense having to do with what can properly be assumed by participants in moral or political discussion. I endorse this thesis, but argue that Stout employs a notion of justification (with regard to moral belief), which leans too far toward descriptivism or relativism. As an alternative account of the status of religion within “the hypercontext, modernity,” I commend Kant's view of the religious attitude as a fundamentally ethical one, destined eventually to dispense with any “historical vehicle” in the form of revealed doctrine or supernaturalism. Stout's discussion is weakened by its retreat from commitment to the unity of practical reason, though it does pay illuminating tribute to the democratic values of civility and attentiveness.
COMPARATIVE ETHICS, A COMMON MORALITY, AND HUMAN RIGHTS
Authors: Twiss Sumner B. 
Published: August 2010

ABSTRACTThis essay is a brief attempt to summarize and evaluate the contributions that Democracy and Tradition makes to the field of comparative ethics. It is argued that the potential impact of these contributions would be strengthened by engagement with the common morality already imbedded in international human rights norms.
THE PRAGMATIC TURN IN THE  STUDY OF RELIGION
Authors: Davis G. Scott 
Published: August 2010

ABSTRACTJeffrey Stout's Democracy and Tradition puts forward a complex argument in favor of American democracy as a healthy and legitimate moral and political tradition in itself. Stout does not dwell on the place of his own work in the “pragmatic” approach to the study of religion in the last thirty years. This paper attempts to situate Stout's work in the approach to religion identified with Mary Douglas and Wayne Proudfoot and to suggest some of the consequences for comparative religious ethics of his making that “pragmatic turn.”
BETWEEN EXAMPLE AND DOCTRINE  Contract Law and Common Morality
Authors: Kaveny M. Cathleen 
Published: August 2010

ABSTRACTIn Democracy and Tradition, Jeffrey Stout contends that American constitutional democracy constitutes a well‐functioning moral and political tradition that is not hostile to religion, although it does not depend on any specifically religious claims. I argue that Stout's contention is supported by a consideration of the great common law subject of contracts, as taught to first‐year law students across the United States. First, I demonstrate how contract law can fruitfully be understood as a MacIntyrean tradition. Second, I illustrate the moral richness of this tradition, and the mutually interpreting nature of rules and facts, by close attention to one particularly colorful case, Syester v. Banta. I conclude by suggesting that both religious and secular ethicists might find common law cases in general and contract law cases in particular to be a source of moral reflection that is substantively rich without being religiously divisive.
GLOBAL JUSTICE AFTER THE FALL  Christian Realism and the “Law of Peoples”
Authors: Santurri Edmund N. 
Published: August 2010

ABSTRACTIn The Law of Peoples John Rawls casts his proposals as an argument against what he calls “political realism.” Here, I contend that a certain version of “Christian political realism” survives Rawls's polemic against political realism sans phrase and that Rawls overstates his case against political realism writ large. Specifically, I argue that Rawls's dismissal of “empirical political realism” is underdetermined by the evidence he marshals in support of the dismissal and that his rejection of “normative political realism” is in tension with his own normative concessions to political reality as expressed in The Law of Peoples. That is, I contend that Rawls, himself, needs some form of political realism to render persuasive the full range of normative claims constituting the argument of that work.
EMBODIMENT AND VIRTUE IN A COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE
Authors: Schofer Jonathan Wyn 
Published: August 2010

ABSTRACTThe turn to descriptive studies of ethics is inspired by the sense that our ethical theorizing needs to engage ethnography, history, and literature in order to address the full complexity of ethical life. This article examines four books that describe the cultivation of virtue in diverse cultural contexts, two concerning early China and two concerning Islam in recent years. All four emphasize the significance of embodiment, and they attend to the complex ways in which choice and agency interact with the authority of tradition. In considering these books, this article examines the relations between our academic claims concerning the self and ethics, conceptual or theoretical claims made in the elite writings of traditions, and the lived experiences of the people we study. The conclusion turns to our methodological foundations for studying these topics both comparatively and constructively.
Human Rights and the Defense of Liberal Democracy
Authors: Langlois Anthony J. 
Published: August 2010

ABSTRACTIn recent issues of theJournal of Religious Ethics(2006, 2007), David Little has defended the contemporary regime of international human rights against what he thinks of as the relativizing influences of the genealogical “just‐so” story told by Jeffrey Stout in hisDemocracy and Tradition(2004). I argue that Stout is correct about just‐so stories, and that Little does not go far enough in his reclamation of liberalism against Stout's “new traditionalists.” The main weaknesses of Little's approach are his insistence on the idea that human rights are to be thought of as natural rights, and that these in turn are to be thought of as self‐evident and self‐justifying. I argue that they are neither: they come to us via a Stoutian just‐so story, and that as part of a broader reclamation of liberalism, they can continue to serve as the basis for the kind of international liberal constitutionalism that Little advocates.
Long‐acting genipin derivative protects retinal ganglion cells from oxidative stress models in vitro and in vivo through the Nrf2/antioxidant response element signaling pathway
Authors: Koriyama Yoshiki , Chiba Kenzo , Yamazaki Matsumi , Suzuki Hirokazu , Ichiro Muramoto Ken , Kato Satoru 
Published: August 2010

J. Neurochem. (2010) 115, 79–91.AbstractPreviously, we reported that genipin, a herbal iridoid, had neuritogenic and neuroprotective actions on PC12 cells. Although nitric oxide (NO)‐activated signalings were proposed to be neuritogenic, the neuroprotective action of genipin remains to be elucidated. From the standpoint of NO activation, we tested a possible protective mechanism through the nitrosative Kelch‐like ECH‐associated protein (Keap1)/NF‐E2‐related factor 2 (Nrf2)‐antioxidant response element pathway in rat retinal ganglion cells (RGC‐5 cells) in culture, and in vivo, against hydrogen peroxide and optic nerve injury (ONI), respectively, using a long‐acting (1R)‐isoPropyloxygenipin (IPRG001). IPRG001 induced NO generation and the expressions of antioxidative enzymes, such as heme oxygenase‐1 (HO‐1), in RGC‐5 cells. The protective action of IPRG001 depended on HO‐1 and NO induction. We found that S‐nitrosylation of Keap1 by IPRG001 may contribute to translocation of Nrf2 to the nucleus and triggered transcriptional activation of antioxidative enzymes. Furthermore, apoptotic cells were increased and 4‐hydroxy‐2‐nonenal was accumulated in rat retina following ONI. Pre‐treatment with IPRG001 almost completely suppressed apoptosis and accumulation of 4‐hydroxy‐2‐nonenal in RGCs following ONI accompanied by HO‐1 induction. These data demonstrate for the first time that IPRG001 exerts neuroprotective action in RGCs in vitro and in vivo, through the Nrf2/antioxidant response element pathway by S‐nitrosylation against oxidative stress.
Glypican‐1 facilitates prion conversion in lipid rafts
Authors: Hooper Nigel M. 
Published: August 2010

J. Neurochem. (2011) 116, 721–725.AbstractThe conformational conversion of the cellular prion protein (PrPC) to the infectious form (PrPSc) is the critical step in the pathogenesis of prion diseases such as Creutzfeldt‐Jakob disease in humans and scrapie in sheep. Cholesterol‐rich lipid rafts play a key role in the conversion of PrPC to PrPSc and other cellular components have been identified as important cofactors to trigger, enhance, or accelerate prion formation. Amongst these heparan sulphate proteoglycans (HSPGs) and their glycosaminoglycan side‐chains have been implicated in prion metabolism. Recently, the cell‐surface HSPG glypican‐1 was demonstrated to co‐localise with PrPC on the cell surface and to promote its association with lipid rafts. Both PrPC and PrPSc co‐immunoprecipitated with glypican‐1 and the interaction was dependent on the glycosaminoglycan side chains of glypican‐1. Critically, depletion of glypican‐1 in scrapie‐infected N2a cells reduced the formation of PrPSc, indicating that this HSPG is involved in prion formation. Further work is required to understand the molecular and cellular mechanisms underpinning the role of glypican‐1 and possibly other members of the glypican family in prion metabolism, and to determine whether glypican‐1 facilitates PrPSc formation in vivo.
Pre‐synaptic BK channels selectively control glutamate versus GABA release from cortical and hippocampal nerve terminals
Authors: Martire Maria , Barrese Vincenzo , D’Amico Monia , Iannotti Fabio Arturo , Pizzarelli Rocco , Samengo Irene , Viggiano Davide , Ruth Peter , Cherubini Enrico , Taglialatela Maurizio 
Published: August 2010

J. Neurochem. (2010) 115, 411–422.AbstractIn the present study, by means of genetic, biochemical, morphological, and electrophysiological approaches, the role of large‐conductance voltage‐ and Ca2+‐dependent K+ channels (BK channels) in the release of excitatory and non‐excitatory neurotransmitters at hippocampal and non‐hippocampal sites has been investigated. The results obtained show that the pharmacological modulation of pre‐synaptic BK channels selectively regulates [3H]d‐aspartate release from cortical and hippocampal rat synaptosomes, but it fails to influence the release of excitatory neurotransmitters from cerebellar nerve endings or that of [3H]GABA, [3H]Noradrenaline, or [3H]Dopamine from any of the brain regions investigated. Confocal immunofluorescence experiments in hippocampal or cerebrocortical nerve terminals revealed that the main pore‐forming BK α subunit was more abundantly expressed in glutamatergic (vGLUT1+) versus GABAergic (GAD65‐67+) nerve terminals. Double patch recordings in monosynaptically connected hippocampal neurons in culture confirmed a preferential control exerted by BK channels on glutamate over GABA release. Altogether, the present results highlight a high degree of specificity in the regulation of the release of various neurotransmitters from distinct brain regions by BK channels, supporting the concept that BK channel modulators can be used to selectively limit excessive excitatory amino acid release, a major pathogenetic mechanism in several neuropsychiatric disorders.
Lentivirus‐mediated expression of insulin‐like growth factor‐I promotes neural stem/precursor cell proliferation and enhances their potential to generate neurons
Authors: Kouroupi Georgia , Lavdas Alexandros A. , Gaitanou Maria , Thomaidou Dimitra , Stylianopoulou Fotini , Matsas Rebecca 
Published: August 2010

J. Neurochem. (2010) 115, 460–474.AbstractStrategies to enhance neural stem/precursor cell (NPC) capacity to yield multipotential, proliferative, and migrating pools of cells that can efficiently differentiate into neurons could be crucial for structural repair after neurodegenerative damage. Here, we have generated a lentiviral vector for expression of insulin‐like growth factor‐I (IGF‐1) and investigated the impact of IGF‐1 transduction on the properties of cultured NPCs (IGF‐1‐NPCs). Under proliferative conditions, IGF‐1 transduction promoted cell cycle progression via cyclin D1 up‐regulation and Akt phosphorylation. Remarkably upon differentiation‐inducing conditions, IGF‐1‐NPCs cease to proliferate and differentiate to a greater extent into neurons with significantly longer neurites, at the expense of astrocytes. Moreover, using live imaging we provide evidence that IGF‐1 transduction enhances the motility and tissue penetration of grafted NPCs in cultured cortical slices. These results illustrate the important consequence of IGF‐1 transduction in regulating NPC functions and offer a potential strategy to enhance the prospective repair potential of NPCs.
Effective heuristics for the Set Covering with Pairs Problem
Authors: Gonçalves Luciana Brugiolo , De Lima Martins Simone , Ochi Luiz Satoru 
Published: August 2010

AbstractThis paper deals with the Set Covering with Pairs Problem (SCPP). This problem is a generalization of the Set Covering Problem (SCP), which is known to be NP‐hard. The difference between the problems is that, in the SCPP, one element of the universe is admitted to be covered if there are at least two specific objects chosen to cover it. In this context, three constructive heuristics, one local search algorithm and a Greedy Randomized Adaptive Search Procedure are proposed. The algorithms developed were tested in 560 instances available in the literature and they were capable of achieving optimal solutions for several instances.
Systemic Sclerosis: New Insights in Autoimmunity
Authors: Kaal Suzanne E. J. , Van den hoogen Frank H. J. , De jong Elke M. G. J. , Viëtor Henk E. 
Published: August 2010

Abstract.The strong female predilection of systemic sclerosis, especially in women after their childbearing years, and the clinical and histopathological similarities with chronic graft‐versus‐host disease make systemic sclerosis an interesting subject of debate. Recent studies concerning the pathogenesis of this disease demonstrated the persistence of fetal cells in the maternal circulation in a majority of female patients. How or whether microchimerism is involved in the pathogenesis of systemic sclerosis remains to be elucidated. The present paper reviews the recent findings on the subject.
Age‐Related Changes in the Thyroid Hormone Effects on Malondialdehyde‐Modified Proteins in the Rat Heart
Authors: Chehade Joe , Kim Joohee , Pinnas Jacob L. , Mooradian Arshag D. 
Published: August 2010

Abstract.To determine the age‐related changes in thyroid hormone (TH) effects on malondialdehyde (MDA)‐modified proteins in cardiac tissue, rats at 4, 12, and 25 months of age were studied. Hyperthyroidism was induced with daily injection of L‐triiodothyronine (15 μg/100 g) intraperitoneally for 10 days. Hypothyroidism was induced with 0.025% methimazole in the drinking water for 4 weeks. MDA proteins were measured with immunoblots using a specific anti‐MDA antiserum. MDA was measured as thiobarbituric acid reactive substance.Hypothyroidism in 4‐month‐old rats was associated with significant reduction in MDA proteins compared to euthyroid rats (13.4 ± 5.9% vs. 99.8 ± 10.4% of controls P < 0.001). Hyperthyroidism did not result in a significant change of MDA proteins. In aged rats, neither hypothyroidism nor hyperthyroidism was associated with significant changes in cardiac MDA proteins. The changes in MDA proteins did not correlate with cardiac MDA concentrations. In young rats, the MDA concentrations (nmol/mg) were significantly reduced in hypothyroidism (2.71 ± 0.21) and were increased in hyperthyroidism (8.19 ± 0.78) compared to euthyroid values (5.06 ± 0.71) P < 0.01. In aged rats, cardiac MDA content was significantly increased during both hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism. We conclude that alterations in MDA protein content is yet another potential biochemical effect of TH in cardiac tissue. This particular effect is significantly blunted with age.
A Gravimetric Method for the Measurement of Total Spontaneous Activity in Rats
Authors: Biesiadecki Brandon J. , Brand Paul H. , Koch Lauren G. , Britton Steven L. 
Published: August 2010

Abstract.Currently available methods for the measurement of spontaneous activity of laboratory animals require expensive, specialized equipment and may not be suitable for use in low light conditions with nocturnal species. We developed a gravimetric method that uses common laboratory equipment to quantify the total spontaneous activity of rats and is suitable for use in the dark. The rat in its home cage is placed on a top‐loading electronic balance interfaced to a computer. Movements are recorded by the balance as changes in weight and transmitted to the computer at 10 Hz. Data are analyzed on‐line to derive the absolute value of the difference in weight between consecutive samples, and the one‐second average of the absolute values is calculated. The averages are written to file for off‐line analysis and summed over the desired observation period to provide a measure of total spontaneous activity. The results of in vitro experiments demonstrated that: 1) recorded weight changes were not influenced by position of the weight on the bottom of the cage, 2) values recorded from a series of weight changes were not significantly different from the calculated values, 3) the constantly decreasing force exerted by a swinging pendulum placed on the balance was accurately recorded, 4) the measurement of activity was not influenced by the evaporation of a fluid such as urine, and 5) the method can detect differences in the activity of sleeping and waking rats over a 10‐min period, as well as during 4‐hr intervals recorded during active (night‐time) and inactive (daytime) periods. These results demonstrate that this method provides an inexpensive, accurate, and noninvasive method to quantitate the spontaneous activity of small animals.
The Effects of Spaceflight on Mammary Metabolism in Pregnant Rats
Authors: Plaut K. , Maple R. , Vyas C. , Munaim S. , Darling A. , Casey T. , Alberts J. R. 
Published: August 2010

Abstract.The effects of spaceflight on mammary metabolism of 10 pregnant rats was measured on Day 20 of pregnancy and after parturition. Rats were flown on the space shuttle from Day 11 through Day 20 of pregnancy. After their return to earth, glucose oxidation to carbon dioxide increased 43% (P < 0.05), and incorporation into fatty acids increased 300% (P < 0.005) compared to controls. It is unclear whether the enhanced glucose use is due to spaceflight or a response to landing. Casein mRNA and gross histology were not altered at Day 20 of pregnancy. Six rats gave birth (on Day 22 to 23 of pregnancy) and mammary metabolic activity was measured immediately postpartum. The earlier effects of spaceflight were no longer apparent. There was also no difference in expression of β‐casein mRNA. It is clear from these studies that spaceflight does not impair the normal development of the mammary gland, its ability to use glucose, nor the ability to express mRNA for a major milk protein.
Ants as Indicators of Restoration Success at a Uranium Mine in Tropical Australia
Authors: Andersen Alan N. 
Published: August 2010

AbstractThe composition and structure of ant communities were used to assess the success of the preliminary restoration program at Ranger uranium mine in the seasonal tropics of northern Australia. Ants were surveyed at eight sites, including two relatively undisturbed control sits, within the Ranger lease. The revegetated sites represented a range of variables likely to influence restoration success: revegetation age (two, four, and eight years), proximity to undisturbed sites (which act as potential sources of recolonization), and burning treatment. Revegetation at most sites was dominated by fast‐growing species ofAcacia.There was a clear succession of ant species across revegetated sites. Initial colonization was by species ofIridomyrmex, but as plant cover and litter development increased these were replaced by broadly adapted, opportunist species, especially the introducedParatrechina longicornis. Ant recolonization was very slow at isolated sites, with only 12 species present after eight years (the oldest site available). This compares with 21 species after only four years at a site located close to potential sources of recolonization. The ant community at this site, however, was very similar to that at another site located close to colonization sources, but eight years old. Ant succession therefore appeared to have stalled at this point, with species richness and composition bearing little resemblance to that at control sites. The heavy shade and litter produced by acacias were considered to be the major impediment to further change. Results from a site that had undergone a prescribed burn after two years, thereby breaking dominance by acacias and allowing for the establishment of a wide variety of plant taxa, suggest that such management practices may promote further colonization by ant species.