Cultural Pluralism and Epistemic Injustice

For liberalism, values such as respect, reciprocity, and tolerance should frame cultural encounters in multicultural societies. However, it is easy to disregard that power differences and political domination also influence the cultural sphere and the relations between cultural groups. In this essay, I focus on some challenges for cultural pluralism. In relation to Indian political theorist Rajeev Bhargava, I discuss the meaning of cultural domination and epistemic injustice and their historical and moral implications. Bhargava argued that as a consequence of colonialism, “indigenous cultures” were inferiorized, marginalized, and anonymized. Although cultures are often changing due to external influences, I argue that epistemic injustice implies that a culture is forced to subjection, disrespected, and considered as inferior and that it threatens the dominated people’s epistemic framework, collective identity, and existential security. Finally, I refer to John Rawls’s theory of political liberalism as a constructive approach to avoid parochialism and Western cultural dominatio

Feminist Ethics and the Question of Gender

Report from the 54th Societas Ethica Annual Conference 2018 in Louvain-la-Neuv

PET studies on the immune cell marker TSPO in first episode psychosis patients

Several lines of evidence are indicative of a role for immune activation in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Nevertheless, studies using positron emission tomography (PET) and radioligands for the translocator protein (TSPO), a marker for glial activation, have yielded inconsistent results. In the present thesis the primary aim was to investigate immune activation in brain in early schizophrenia by examining brain TSPO availability in a cohort of first-episode psychosis (FEP) patients, never before exposed to antipsychotics. In our first study we assessed the reproducibility of the second generation radioligand [11C]PBR28 by performing repeat measurements in 12 healthy control subjects. We found a medium test-retest reproducibility, but high reliability in [11C]PBR28 binding. A numerically lower variability was detected for subjects examined in the morning of separate days, as opposed to morning and afternoon of the same day, where higher afternoon TSPO levels were observed using secondary methods of quantification. The results suggest that diurnal variation may be a potential confounder in clinical studies. In our second study we examined 32 healthy individuals, using [11C]PBR28, of which 26 had repeat PET measurements. We found a strong association between TSPO availability in brain and blood cells, both at baseline and when analyzing change between two PET examinations. There was also a significant correlation between change in peripheral leukocyte numbers and change in brain TSPO. The results suggest interplay between central and peripheral TSPO at physiological conditions, and that measurement of radioligand binding in blood cells may be a way to control for peripheral immune function in PET studies of TSPO in brain. In our third study we examined 16 antipsychotic-naïve FEP patients and 16 control subjects with PET and [11C]PBR28. A significant decrease in TSPO availability in brain was detected in patients as compared to controls. The results indicate that the lack of increase in TSPO availability in earlier studies of schizophrenia was not caused by antipsychotic medication. The observed decrease suggests reduced numbers or altered function of immune cells in brain in early schizophrenia. Finally, we examined the same cohort of FEP patients and control subjects with respect to the relationship between TSPO availability in brain and peripheral blood cells, as well as chemokine levels. The ratio between binding in brain and blood cells was significantly lower in patients as compared to control subjects. Moreover, we observed a correlation between TSPO binding in brain and levels of the chemokine YKL-40 in cerebrospinal fluid, in different directions among patients and controls respectively. These preliminary results suggest a dysregulation of brain immune cells in early schizophrenia. Future studies combining TSPO PET with pro- and anti-inflammatory immune markers are needed to clarify the role of the immune system at different stages of the disease

Formateurs ou « grands frères » ?:Les tuteurs des programmes d’ouverture sociale des Grandes Écoles et des classes préparatoires

Espaces centraux pour la reproduction des élites scolaires et sociales françaises, les Grandes Écoles et les Classes Préparatoires aux Grandes Écoles (CPGE) cherchent à s’imposer depuis le début des années 2000 comme des lieux d’expérimentation de nouvelles pratiques de lutte contre les inégalités. Elles ont pour cela lancé des politiques innovantes visant à favoriser l’intégration dans des formations d’élite des jeunes de milieu défavorisé qui s’appuient sur le travail d’étudiants-tuteurs. Cet article étudie deux de ces politiques en traitant d’abord de la place du tutorat dans les dispositifs et des caractéristiques et motivations des tuteurs avant de se pencher plus longuement sur les définitions théoriques et pratiques de leurs rôles. Il met l’accent sur les apports et les limites de l’action pédagogique et socialisatrice des étudiants qui s’impliquent dans ces politiques et conclut en indiquant que ces derniers jouent un rôle original dans la reproduction du modèle de formation des élites en France.The Grandes Écoles and preparatory classes to Grandes Écoles as central places for the reproduction of French academic and social elites have sought since the early 2000s to experiment new practices to fight inequalities. They have launched innovative policies aimed to foster the inclusion of disadvantaged students in elite courses based on the participation of tutoring students. This paper explores two of these policies. It first addresses the place of tutors and their motivations in ad hoc policies, and then focuses on the theoretical and practical definitions of their roles. It emphasises the contributions and limits of the pedagogical and socialising action of the students involved in these policies. It finally suggests that these students play a new role in the reproduction of the model of elite courses in France.Al ser ámbitos centrales para la reproducción de élites escolares y sociales francesas, las Grandes Escuelas y las Clases Preparatorias a las Escuelas Superiores (CPGE) intentan imponerse desde el principio de los años 2000 como lugares de experimento de nuevas prácticas de lucha contra las desigualdades. Para esto han iniciado políticas innovadoras con vistas a favorecer la integración en las formaciones de élite de los jóvenes de un medio social desfavorecido que se apoyan en el trabajo de estudiantes tutores. Este artículo estudia dos de estas políticas al tratar primero de la importancia de la tutoría en los dispositivos y las características y motivaciones de los tutores antes de examinar más detenidamente las definiciones teóricas y prácticas de sus papeles respectivos. Pone énfasis en las contribuciones y los límites de la acción pedagógica y socializadora de los estudiantes que se implican en estas políticas y concluye indicando que estos últimos tienen un papel original en la reproducción del modelo de formación de las élites en Francia.Als zentraler Raum der Reproduktion schulischer und sozialer Eliten in Frankreich versuchen die „Grandes Écoles“ und die Vorbereitungsklassen für die Zulassung zu den „Grandes Ecoles“ („Classes préparatoires“ oder CPGE) sich seit dem Beginn der Jahrtausendwende als Experimentierstätte neuer Praktiken im Kampf gegen die Ungleichheiten zu profilieren. Zu diesem Zweck haben sie eine innovative Politik in Gang gebracht, die darauf zielt, die Eingliederung von Jugendlichen aus sozial schwachen Milieus in die Eliteausbildung zu begünstigen und die sich auf die Arbeit von studentischen Tutoren stützt. Dieser Artikel untersucht zwei Varianten dieser Politik, indem er zunächst den Stellenwert des Tutorats in der jeweiligen Vorrichtung sowie die Profile und die Motivationen der Tutoren behandelt, bevor er ausführlicher auf die theoretischen und praktischen Definitionen ihrer Rolle eingeht. Er legt den Schwerpunkt auf den Beitrag und die Grenzen des pädagogischen und sozialisierenden Handelns der Studenten, die sich in dieser Politik einsetzen, und schließt mit dem Hinweis, dass jene Studenten eine grundlegende Rolle in der Reproduktion des Modells der Elitenausbildung in Frankreich spielen

Takotsubo stress cardiomyopathy and different types of stress

Myocardial infarction with normal coronary angiography (MINCA) is an important subgroup of myocardial infarction for which the prevalence, underlying pathophysiology, prognosis and optimal management are still largely unknown. Interest in and awareness of MINCA has increased in recent years due to the frequent use of coronary angiography, the description of Takotsubo stress cardiomyopathy (TSC) and new sensitive troponin assays. The purpose of this thesis was to investigate the prevalence and clinical characteristics of MINCA using cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) and particularly to investigate the effect of stress on TSC using Doppler tissue imaging (DTI), heart rate variability (HRV), salivary cortisol (SC) and non-invasive coronary flow reserve (CFR). In Study I, 176 patients with MINCA were screened at five coronary care units in the Stockholm Metropolitan Area. 152 of them were investigated using CMR which showed 67% of the patients as being normal, 19% having signs of myocardial necrosis and 7% the diagnosis was myocarditis in of the patients. The remaining patients were either diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy or were undecided. Twenty-two percent of all MINCA with a normal CMR fulfilled the Mayo Clinic criteria for TSC. In Study II, we tested the hypothesis that compared to sex- and age-matched controls TSC patients have an increased vulnerability to stress even after the acute event. Using dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE) and DTI we investigated the TSC patients approximately 20 months (619 ± 297 days) after the acute event. At rest left ventricular myocardial performance index (LV-MPI) was significantly higher for TSC patients (p=0.01). During stress, however, there were no significant differences between the groups. Study III was in many ways similar to Study II except that mental stress was used instead of dobutamine stress. The study was performed 28 months after the acute event. In addition to DTI, HRV and SC were also studied. During mental stress there were no significant differences between TSC patients and sex- and age-matched controls for DTI, HRV and SC. There was a trend towards less increase in SC after stress in TSC patients compared to controls. A self-estimated acute stress scale (Likert-type scale from 0–6) was 2.8 and 2.6 during mental stress for TSC patients and controls, respectively. During the acute event TSC patients retrospectively estimated their acute stress level at 4.4. In Study IV, dobutamine stress was used to investigate the effect of stress on non-invasive CFR. At low-dose dobutamine, CFR was significantly lower in TSC patients compared to controls (p=0.017). There were no differences in CFR at high-dose dobutamine between the groups. Conclusion: MINCA is more common than previously thought and is associated with a normal CMR. TSC constitutes a substantial part of MINCA. Studies II and III point to a slow recovery for TSC patients measured by DTI but no sign of vulnerability was revealed by dobutamine or mental stress measured by DTI, HRV or SC. We could not confirm that the catecholamine dobutamine induced microvascular dysfunction in TSC patients. However, we found a small but significant difference in CFR at low-dose dobutamine, which implies that the role of microvascular function in TSC needs to be further explored

Matching scope, purpose and uses of planetary boundaries science

Background: The Planetary Boundaries concept (PBc) has emerged as a key global sustainability concept in international sustainable development arenas. Initially presented as an agenda for global sustainability research, it now shows potential for sustainability governance. We use the fact that it is widely cited in scientific literature (>3500 citations) and an extensively studied concept to analyse how it has been used and developed since its first publication. Design: From the literature that cites the PBc, we select those articles that have the terms 'planetary boundaries' or 'safe operating space' in either title, abstract or keywords. We assume that this literature substantively engages with and develops the PBc. Results: We find that 6% of the citing literature engages with the concept. Within this fraction of the literature we distinguish commentaries—that discuss the context and challenges to implementing the PBc, articles that develop the core biogeophysical concept and articles that apply the concept by translating to sub-global scales and by adding a human component to it. Applied literature adds to the concept by explicitly including society through perspectives of impacts, needs, aspirations and behaviours. Discussion: Literature applying the concept does not yet include the more complex, diverse, cultural and behavioural facet of humanity that is implied in commentary literature. We suggest there is need for a positive framing of sustainability goals—as a Safe Operating Space rather than boundaries. Key scientific challenges include distinguishing generalised from context-specific knowledge, clarifying which processes are generalizable and which are scalable, and explicitly applying complex systems' knowledge in the application and development of the PBc. We envisage that opportunities to address these challenges will arise when more human social dimensions are integrated, as we learn to feed the global sustainability vision with a plurality of bottom-up realisations of sustainability

Lower levels of the glial cell marker TSPO in drug-naive first-episode psychosis patients as measured using PET and [11C]PBR28.

Abstract Several lines of evidence are indicative of a role for immune activation in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Nevertheless, studies using positron emission tomography (PET) and radioligands for the translocator protein (TSPO), a marker for glial activation, have yielded inconsistent results. Whereas early studies using a radioligand with low signal-to-noise in small samples showed increases in patients, more recent studies with improved methodology have shown no differences or trend-level decreases. Importantly, all patients investigated thus far have been on antipsychotic medication, and as these compounds may dampen immune cell activity, this factor limits the conclusions that can be drawn. Here, we examined 16 drug-naive, first-episode psychosis patients and 16 healthy controls using PET and the TSPO radioligand [11C]PBR28. Gray matter (GM) volume of distribution (VT) derived from a two-tissue compartmental analysis with arterial input function was the main outcome measure. Statistical analyses were performed controlling for both TSPO genotype, which is known to affect [11C]PBR28 binding, and gender. There was a significant reduction of [11C]PBR28 VT in patients compared with healthy controls in GM as well as in secondary regions of interest. No correlation was observed between GM VT and clinical or cognitive measures after correction for multiple comparisons. The observed decrease in TSPO binding suggests reduced numbers or altered function of immune cells in brain in early-stage schizophrenia

Matching scope, purpose and uses of planetary boundaries science

Background: The Planetary Boundaries concept (PBc) has emerged as a key global sustainability concept in international sustainable development arenas. Initially presented as an agenda for global sustainability research, it now shows potential for sustainability governance. We use the fact that it is widely cited in scientific literature (>3500 citations) and an extensively studied concept to analyse how it has been used and developed since its first publication. Design: From the literature that cites the PBc, we select those articles that have the terms 'planetary boundaries' or 'safe operating space' in either title, abstract or keywords. We assume that this literature substantively engages with and develops the PBc. Results: We find that 6% of the citing literature engages with the concept. Within this fraction of the literature we distinguish commentaries—that discuss the context and challenges to implementing the PBc, articles that develop the core biogeophysical concept and articles that apply the concept by translating to sub-global scales and by adding a human component to it. Applied literature adds to the concept by explicitly including society through perspectives of impacts, needs, aspirations and behaviours. Discussion: Literature applying the concept does not yet include the more complex, diverse, cultural and behavioural facet of humanity that is implied in commentary literature. We suggest there is need for a positive framing of sustainability goals—as a Safe Operating Space rather than boundaries. Key scientific challenges include distinguishing generalised from context-specific knowledge, clarifying which processes are generalizable and which are scalable, and explicitly applying complex systems' knowledge in the application and development of the PBc. We envisage that opportunities to address these challenges will arise when more human social dimensions are integrated, as we learn to feed the global sustainability vision with a plurality of bottom-up realisations of sustainability