Human(e) rights and the cosmopolitan imagination: questions of human dignity and cultural identity

Here I seek to explore the cosmopolitan foundations of the idea of human rights. The argument begins by considering the popularity of the idea of human rights in a globalized and fast-moving commodified and digital culture. At this point I consider whether the idea of human rights might be considered to be a modern utopia similar to the role that art and nature played in the Romantic movements of the 19th century. Further, I defend human rights against those who simply see it as a form of neoliberalism or as largely ineffective against the power of the state. At this point I investigate some of the Durkheimian work within cultural sociology that has sought to investigate human rights as a form of moral community. The main problem with this view is that it has little to say about human freedom. However, viewed through a cultural lens, the global spread of human rights is connected to the idea of human dignity. While there is never likely to be a global consensus on this term, it does retain an important philosophical anchoring in Kantian ideas. More recently this debate has been revived by the critical reception of the work of Agamben and his idea of ‘bare life’. If human rights can indeed be connected to the struggle for a dignified and meaningful life, then the idea of ‘bare life’ remains an important conceptual advance. However, by considering the work and legacy of Du Bois, Gilroy and others, we can also see how the term dignity might take on other meanings in different settings. Finally, I argue that the idea of dignity and human rights could yet provide an important focus for resistance against the imperatives of capital and state in these neoliberal times

The axial age and the problems of the twentieth century: Du Bois, Jaspers, and universal history

The axial age debate has put big questions of social and cultural change back on the agenda of sociology. This paper takes this development as an occasion to reflect on how social thought works with (and against) nineteenth-century intellectual traditions in its efforts to understand history on a macro scale. Karl Jaspers, who initially formulated the axial age thesis in The Origin and Goal of History, revised the Hegelian account of world history by broadening the scope of the narrative to encompass all civilizations participating in the events of the first millennium BCE that saw the rise of major philosophical and religious traditions. However, his account, like the earlier philosophical accounts he seeks to improve upon, privileges cognitive developments over material practices and social interactions, and as such offers little to those seeking to make sense of how cultural patterns interact with others and spread. Here another social theorist engaging with Hegel, W. E. B. Du Bois, provides a helpful contrast. His account of the development of double-consciousness in "Of Our Spiritual Strivings," the opening chapter of The Souls of Black Folk, helps us to understand experiences of encounter and the perduring historical effects they may have. Du Bois’ relational theory reminds us of the importance of unpacking abstractions and understanding processes in terms of social interactions

Effectiveness of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors in pediatric patients with mid to severe aortic valve regurgitation

The long-term benefit of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors in pediatric patients with aortic valve regurgitation is under consideration. Eighteen patients with mid to severe aortic valve regurgitation were retrospectively evaluated. Echocardiographic parameters (left ventricular end-diastolic diameter, shortening fraction, left ventricular posterior wall thickness, and grade of aortic valve regurgitation) were analyzed before and during therapy with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors. Data are given as standard deviation scores (Z-scores) derived from body surface-adjusted normal values. Median (interquartile range) age at start of therapy was 8.4 (5.4 to 10.0) years, and total follow-up 2.3 (0.9 to 5.4) years. Left ventricular end-diastolic diameter increased from 3.6 (2.3 to 4.5) to 3.7 (2.4 to 4.8), and left ventricular posterior wall diameter decreased from 1.9 (1.1 to 3.0) to 1.1 (0.5 to 2.3). Grade of aortic valve regurgitation increased from 3.5 (2.3 to 4.0) to 4.0 (2.0 to 4.0), and shortening fraction decreased from 39% (34% to 43%) to 37% (34% to 42%). No significant effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors on left ventricular dimensions or function was found in our population of patients with mid to severe aortic valve regurgitation. Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors may not alter left ventricular overload in pediatric patients with aortic valve regurgitation

Polymorphisms and haplotypes in MyD88 are associated with the development of sarcoidosis: a candidate-gene association study

Sarcoidosis is considered as a disorder of protracted immune response to an as yet unidentified causative agent that leads to granuloma formation. Material from M. tuberculosis and P. acne has been repeatedly detected in the sarcoidosis lesions, implying the involvement of the Toll-like receptor2 (TLR2) gene that responds to these intracellular pathogens. Since TLR2 association studies have produced controversial results, we sought to investigate whether the downstream signalling molecule MyD88 could be linked to disease susceptibility. We analyzed a total of 93 cases with sarcoidosis and of 89 controls for the most common MyD88 SNPs: -938C > A (rs4988453) and 1944C > G (rs4988457). There is evidence that the genotype distributions of both variants are associated with the development of sarcoidosis (p = 0.038 for -938C > A and p = 0.026 for 1944C > G). In particular, -938A and 1944G carriers were associated with risk of sarcoidosis [OR = 2.48 (1.23-5.02) and OR = 0.33 (0.14-0.76)], respectively, indicating dominance of the mutant alleles; however, the adjustment of the effect size for age and sex diminished the significance. The haplotype analysis showed association for the -938A/1944G haplotype (p < 0.001). Since genetic association studies have linked MyD88 to Hodgkin's lymphoma it is tempting to speculate that MyD88 may contribute to the granuloma formation that characterizes sarcoidosis

Genome-wide association study identifies multiple susceptibility loci for pulmonary fibrosis

We performed a genome-wide association study of non-Hispanic, white individuals with fibrotic idiopathic interstitial pneumonias (IIPs; n = 1,616) and controls (n = 4,683), with follow-up replication analyses in 876 cases and 1,890 controls. We confirmed association with TERT at 5p15, MUC5B at 11p15 and the 3q26 region near TERC, and we identified seven newly associated loci (Pmeta = 2.4 × 10−8 to 1.1 × 10−19), including FAM13A (4q22), DSP (6p24), OBFC1 (10q24), ATP11A (13q34), DPP9 (19p13) and chromosomal regions 7q22 and 15q14-15. Our results suggest that genes involved in host defense, cell-cell adhesion and DNA repair contribute to risk of fibrotic IIPs