A Cosmopolitan response to the 'war on terror'

This article explores the relevance and the significance of cosmopolitanism as an approach to understanding the ‘war on terror’. The article details how cosmopolitanism affords a perspective through which it is possible to critique and deconstruct the ‘war on terror’ and create narratives which include the impact of harmful state practices. The facets of cosmopolitanism which make it relevant to the ‘war on terror’ include its emphasis on justice and human rights. It also accounts for interactions between the global level and the local level, which are necessary to understanding the contemporary discourses of securitization and deviancy which are prominent in the ‘war on terror’. Through discussing the value of cosmopolitanism, and its concepts of human rights, equality, humanity, ethics, responsibility and justice, the article demonstrates how although the ‘war on terror’ has been constructed to defend and uphold such values, it has eroded these very values and in doing so, it facilitates the radicalization process

Tocotrienol-Rich Fraction Of Palm Oil Attenuates Type II Collagen-Induced Temporomandibular Joint Rheumatoid Arthritis In Rats For Future Clinical Application

Temporomandibular joint involvement in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is not uncommon. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), are considered main line of RA treatment but they can cause side effects. Tocotrienol rich fraction (TRF) extracted from palm oil was reported to possess potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. This research was designed to study the therapeutic potential of TRF against TMJ arthritis. 30 Albino Wistar rats were divided into: Control (C), Arthritis (A) and Arthritis + TRF (A-TRF) groups. A-TRF group received TRF daily from day 30 up to day 45 after TMJ arthritis induction was accomplished. Serum inflammatory cytokines were assessed and TMJ histopathological examinations were done. Plasma levels of inflammatory cytokines increased in A-group and they were comparable in both C and A-TRF groups. A-TRF group showed that, the inflammatory changes were mild on examination of stained sections of TMJ. A-TRF-group bone mineral density was notably increased after TRF administration. In conclusion, the decreased plasma levels of inflammatory cytokines and the increased bone mineral density associated with tocotrienolsrich-fraction supplements administration could be provide an evidence that TRF could be used as an effective therapy of TMJ rheumatoid arthritis

British Muslims perceptions of social cohesion: from multiculturalism to community cohesion and the ‘war on terror’

Since the Northern disturbances of 2001 and the terrorist attacks of September 11th, the UK government has changed the focus of policies from those that predominantly focused on British Muslims’ Asian identity, to those that focus on British Muslims’ religious identity. The fracturing of the Asian identity has been evident in the political discourses on the ‘war on terror’ and community cohesion, with both defining British Muslims through their religious identity, as opposed to their Asian identity, an identity for which inter Asian commonality existed. This article draws on research that was conducted on British Muslims’ perceptions of social policy since the 1980s and explores the extent to which changes in governmental policies have impacted British Muslims’ perceptions of commonality with non-British Muslims. The article demonstrates how the ‘war on terror’ and community cohesion are negatively impacting social cohesion through making British Muslims feel isolated and marginalised in society. The implications of the findings are discussed in relation to the radicalisation of British Muslims and the growing influence of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)

Disorders of sex development: challenges for the future

No abstract available

Embed and Conquer: Scalable Embeddings for Kernel k-Means on MapReduce

The kernel $k$-means is an effective method for data clustering which extends the commonly-used $k$-means algorithm to work on a similarity matrix over complex data structures. The kernel $k$-means algorithm is however computationally very complex as it requires the complete data matrix to be calculated and stored. Further, the kernelized nature of the kernel $k$-means algorithm hinders the parallelization of its computations on modern infrastructures for distributed computing. In this paper, we are defining a family of kernel-based low-dimensional embeddings that allows for scaling kernel $k$-means on MapReduce via an efficient and unified parallelization strategy. Afterwards, we propose two methods for low-dimensional embedding that adhere to our definition of the embedding family. Exploiting the proposed parallelization strategy, we present two scalable MapReduce algorithms for kernel $k$-means. We demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed algorithms through an empirical evaluation on benchmark data sets.Comment: Appears in Proceedings of the SIAM International Conference on Data Mining (SDM), 201

Sato-Crutchfield formulation for some Evolutionary Games

The Sato-Crutchfield equations are studied analytically and numerically. The Sato-Crutchfield formulation is corresponding to losing memory. Then Sato-Crutchfield formulation is applied for some different types of games including hawk-dove, prisoner's dilemma and the battle of the sexes games. The Sato-Crutchfield formulation is found not to affect the evolutionarily stable strategy of the ordinary games. But choosing a strategy becomes purely random independent on the previous experiences, initial conditions, and the rules of the game itself. Sato-Crutchfield formulation for the prisoner's dilemma game can be considered as a theoretical explanation for the existence of cooperation in a population of defectors.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, accepted for Int. J. Mod. Phys.

The Road Not Taken - What Is The “Appropriate” Path to Development When Growth is Unbalanced?

This paper develops a model that endogenizes both directed technologies and demography. Potential innovators decide which technologies to develop after considering available factors of production, and individuals decide the quality and quantity of their children after considering available technologies. This interaction allows us to evaluate potentially divergent development paths. We nd that exogenous unskilled-labor biased technological growth can induce higher fertility and lower education, inhibiting overall growth in per person income. However, if technical progress is locally endogenous, increases in the overall workforce caused by unskilled intensive technological progress can make R&D more protable; this can actually induce more income growth can the alternative, skill-intensive path.