The illusion of universalism : how liberals misunderstand “tolerance”

1 online resource (33 pages)Includes abstract.Includes bibliographical references (pages 31-33).This paper seeks to investigate the ties between liberalism and imperialism. Although liberalism is not often associated with imperial tendencies, the social relationship between liberal and nonliberal peoples does not reflect the equality that is advocated by liberal theorists, but instead resembles an unequal power relationship. This relationship is indicative of imperialism which implies a clear delineation between the ruler and the ruled. How does this unequal power relationship between liberals and nonliberals go unnoticed? In an analysis of what I call the “rights-recognition" model of liberalism, I argue that the concept of “tolerance” is the key to understanding how this unequal relationship is maintained and made invisible. Specifically, I argue that liberals have misunderstood the concept of “tolerance” and, when properly understood, the concept implies the existence of an imperialistic power relationship. Furthermore, the way in which the concept of “tolerance” is understood and applied in liberal theory conceals that power relationship between liberals and nonliberals by masking it in a guise of universalism and inclusion. What I hope to show is the misconception of “tolerance” that is promoted in liberal theory can potentially lead to harmful consequences for nonliberal peoples

Trends in Optical Nonlinearity and Thermal Stability in Electrooptic Chromophores Based upon the 3-(Dicyanomethylene)-2,3-dihydrobenzothiophene-1, 1-dioxide Acceptor

A series of new thiophene-bridged chromophores based on the powerful heterocyclic acceptor 3-(dicyanomethylene)-2,3-dihydrobenzothiophene-1,1-dioxide has been synthesized; the dependence of the linear and second-order nonlinear optical properties and thermal stability of these species upon the donor group and the bridging group have been studied. In addition, the synthesis of a related new acceptor, not containing the fused benzene ring, is described and a chromophore based upon this acceptor is studied

Distinct small non-coding RNA landscape in the axons and released extracellular vesicles of developing primary cortical neurons and the axoplasm of adult nerves

Neurons have highlighted the needs for decentralized gene expression and specific RNA function in somato-dendritic and axonal compartments, as well as in intercellular communication via extracellular vesicles (EVs). Despite advances in miRNA biology, the identity and regulatory capacity of other small non-coding RNAs (sncRNAs) in neuronal models and local subdomains has been largely unexplored. We identified a highly complex and differentially localized content of sncRNAs in axons and EVs during early neuronal development of cortical primary neurons and in adult axons in vivo. This content goes far beyond miRNAs and includes most known sncRNAs and precisely processed fragments from tRNAs, sno/snRNAs, Y RNAs and vtRNAs. Although miRNAs are the major sncRNA biotype in whole-cell samples, their relative abundance is significantly decreased in axons and neuronal EVs, where specific tRNA fragments (tRFs and tRHs/tiRNAs) mainly derived from tRNAs Gly-GCC, Val-CAC and Val-AAC predominate. Notably, although 5ʹ-tRHs compose the great majority of tRNA-derived fragments observed in vitro, a shift to 3ʹ-tRNAs is observed in mature axons in vivo. The existence of these complex sncRNA populations that are specific to distinct neuronal subdomains and selectively incorporated into EVs, equip neurons with key molecular tools for spatiotemporal functional control and cell-to-cell communication

Effects of maturation on lower limb neuromuscular asymmetries in elite youth tennis players

Neuromuscular asymmetries have been previously associated with reduced performance. Similarly, maturation has shown that youth athletes may experience a loss of motor control, which could also lead to compromised physical performance. The present study aimed to evaluate and quantify the level of asymmetry among chronological and maturational groups. Forty-one youth tennis players performed the single leg countermovement jump (SLCMJ), star excursion balance test (SEBT) and a change of direction speed (CODS) test. Differences were found between the strongest and weakest limbs across all tests (p 0.001), and also for SEBT in the posteromedial direction (p = 0.02), SEBT composite score (p 0.01) in maturation groups, and for SEBT posterolateral direction (p = 0.03) and SEBT composite score (p = 0.01) in chronological groups. The SLCMJ showed the largest inter-limb asymmetries for the circa peak height velocity (PHV) group (19.31 ± 12.19%) and under-14 (U14) group (17.55 ± 9.90%). Chronological and maturation groups followed similar trends for inter-limb asymmetries, but the biological index showed larger asymmetry scores in the jumping test at PHV compared to that found in the chronological group (U14). These results show that inter-limb differences may be heightened during PHV. Practitioners can use this information to inform the decision-making process when prescribing training interventions in youth tennis players

Marketing as a means to transformative social conflict resolution: lessons from transitioning war economies and the Colombian coffee marketing system

Social conflicts are ubiquitous to the human condition and occur throughout markets, marketing processes, and marketing systems.When unchecked or unmitigated, social conflict can have devastating consequences for consumers, marketers, and societies, especially when conflict escalates to war. In this article, the authors offer a systemic analysis of the Colombian war economy, with its conflicted shadow and coping markets, to show how a growing network of fair-trade coffee actors has played a key role in transitioning the country’s war economy into a peace economy. They particularly draw attention to the sources of conflict in this market and highlight four transition mechanisms — i.e., empowerment, communication, community building and regulation — through which marketers can contribute to peacemaking and thus produce mutually beneficial outcomes for consumers and society. The article concludes with a discussion of implications for marketing theory, practice, and public policy

Stabilization of a prokaryotic LAT transporter by random mutagenesis

Altres ajuts: Fundació La Marató TV3 (20132330)A fluorescence-based screen was used to analyze 70 LAT transporter mutants and identify variants with improved stability and monodispersity. The knowledge of three-dimensional structures at atomic resolution of membrane transport proteins has improved considerably our understanding of their physiological roles and pathological implications. However, most structural biology techniques require an optimal candidate within a protein family for structural determination with (a) reasonable production in heterologous hosts and (b) good stability in detergent micelles. SteT, the Bacillus subtilis -serine/-threonine exchanger is the best-known prokaryotic paradigm of the mammalian -amino acid transporter (LAT) family. Unfortunately, SteT's lousy stability after extracting from the membrane prevents its structural characterization. Here, we have used an approach based on random mutagenesis to engineer stability in SteT. Using a split GFP complementation assay as reporter of protein expression and membrane insertion, we created a library of 70 SteT mutants each containing random replacements of one or two residues situated in the transmembrane domains. Analysis of expression and monodispersity in detergent of this library permitted the identification of evolved versions of SteT with a significant increase in both expression yield and stability in detergent with respect to wild type. In addition, these experiments revealed a correlation between the yield of expression and the stability in detergent micelles. Finally, and based on protein delipidation and relipidation assays together with transport experiments, possible mechanisms of SteT stabilization are discussed. Besides optimizing a member of the LAT family for structural determination, our work proposes a new approach that can be used to optimize any membrane protein of interest