Sociologie de l’État en recomposition

Dans cet article introductif, King et Le Galès rappellent tout d'abord les enjeux de la sociologie de l'Etat, champ de recherche en recomposition, tout comme l'Etat qu'elle vise à étudier. Ils mentionnent, d'une part, l'importance de l'Etat dans la structuration, la régulation des conflits, les inégalités, le pilotage des sociétés européennes et, d'autre part, les arguments mis en avant dans la littérature qui justifient l'intérêt pour la recomposition de l'état, notamment les processus d'européanisation et de mondialisation. Les auteurs évoquent ensuite brièvement des exemples de chantiers de recherche empiriques contemporains sur l'Etat en soulignant les difficultés de conceptualisation. Ils présentent ensuite une partie des travaux récents de sociologie de l'Etat à partir de deux controverses : la première a pour objet les questions de définition et les variables à prendre en compte pour analyser l'Etat, ce qui recoupe le débat sur la distinction entre Etat fort et Etat faible et la contestation des modèles traditionnels centrés sur l'Europe. La seconde controverse poursuit cette question des variables. Les auteurs, en s'appuyant notamment sur les travaux de Michael Mann, développent l'idée selon laquelle l'analyse des politiques publiques est centrale pour comprendre les recompositions de l'Etat contemporain. La présentation des articles réunis dans ce numéro, organisée autour de ces deux controverses, complète cette introduction. [Résumé éditeur

What’s a threat on social media? How Black and Latino Chicago young men define and navigate threats online

Youth living in violent urban neighborhoods increasingly post messages online from urban street corners. The decline of the digital divide and the proliferation of social media platforms connect youth to peer communities who may share experiences with neighborhood stress and trauma. Social media can also be used for targeted retribution when threats and insults are directed at individuals or groups. Recent research suggests that gang-involved youth may use social media to brag, post fight videos, insult, and threaten—a phenomenon termed Internet banging. In this article, we leverage “code of the digital street” to understand how and in what ways social media facilitates urban-based youth violence. We utilize qualitative interviews from 33 Black and Latino young men who frequent violence prevention programs and live in violent neighborhoods in Chicago. Emerging themes describe how and why online threats are conceptualized on social media. Implications for violence prevention and criminal investigations are discussed

Personality traits of high-risk sport participants:A meta-analysis

The purpose of this meta-analysis was to examine the relationships between personality traits and participation in high-risk sport. A total of 149 effect sizes from 39 eligible articles were obtained wherein the personality traits of high-risk sport participants were compared with either low-risk sport participants or individuals not engaged in any sport. Results revealed significant effect sizes in favor of the high-risk participants for sensation seeking, extraversion, and impulsivity. Significant effect sizes in favor of the comparator groups were found for neuroticism, telic dominance, and sensitivity to punishment. No significant differences were observed in psychoticism, sensitivity to reward, socialization, agreeableness, conscientiousness, or openness. The implications of these results and potential avenues of future research are highlighted

Consumers’ Adoption of B2C E-Commerce in Macao

This research sets out to determine factors that influence consumers’ adoption of B2C E-commerce in Macao. While prior research has shown that there are many factors that influence E-commerce adoption, this research hypothesized that two variables – namely, trust and willingness to use credit cards for online transactions – influence E-commerce adoption in Macao. This research further hypothesized that trust and willingness to use credit card interact to influence adoption. Using data collected from a questionnaire survey, the results of this study found that the two hypothesized variables are positively related to intention to adopt E-commerce. The results also support the interaction effect. The nature of interaction showed that trust is related to E-commerce adoption only when willingness to use credit card for online transaction is high. Also, willingness to use credit card for online transaction is related to E-commerce adoption only when the level of trust is high. These results provide a richer understanding of the relationship between the hypothesized variables and Ecommerce adoption. This study also collected interview data related to Internet users’ adoption of E-commerce. The interview data provide a better understanding on why Macao people are afraid of using credit card for online transactions. The researchers gathered more information about interviewees’ credit card usage and habits, their attitudes toward credit card security, and their thoughts regarding identity theft. The interviews also uncovered other factors that may influence E-commerce adoption

Murine obscurin and Obsl1 have functionally redundant roles in sarcolemmal integrity, sarcoplasmic reticulum organization, and muscle metabolism.

Biological roles of obscurin and its close homolog Obsl1 (obscurin-like 1) have been enigmatic. While obscurin is highly expressed in striated muscles, Obsl1 is found ubiquitously. Accordingly, obscurin mutations have been linked to myopathies, whereas mutations in Obsl1 result in 3M-growth syndrome. To further study unique and redundant functions of these closely related proteins, we generated and characterized Obsl1 knockouts. Global Obsl1 knockouts are embryonically lethal. In contrast, skeletal muscle-specific Obsl1 knockouts show a benign phenotype similar to obscurin knockouts. Only deletion of both proteins and removal of their functional redundancy revealed their roles for sarcolemmal stability and sarcoplasmic reticulum organization. To gain unbiased insights into changes to the muscle proteome, we analyzed tibialis anterior and soleus muscles by mass spectrometry, uncovering additional changes to the muscle metabolism. Our analyses suggest that all obscurin protein family members play functions for muscle membrane systems

Preparation and Crystal Structure of a Platinum(II) Complex of [CH2N(CH2COOH)CH2CONH2]2, the Hydrolysis Product of an Anti-Tumour Bis(3,5-Dioxopiperazin-1-YL)Alkane

The synthesis and crystal and molecular structures of the platinum(II) complex Pt(HL)Cl where H2L is the diacid diamide –[CH2N(CH2COOH)CH2CONH2]2, a hydrolytic metabolite of an antitumour active bis(3,5-dioxopiperazin-1-yl)alkane are reported. The complex is square planar and contains HL– as a tridentate 2N (amino), O (carboxylate) donor. The metal to ligand bond distances are Pt-Cl 2.287(1) Å, Pt-O 2.002 (1) Å, Pt-Ntrans Cl 2.014(1) Å and Pt-Ntrans O 2.073 Å. There is extensive hydrogen bonding, each molecule of Pt(HL)Cl being intermolecularly hydrogen bonded to ten others giving a 3-dimensional network. There is also one intramolecular H-bond

Genetic study of congenital bile-duct dilatation identifies de novo and inherited variants in functionally related genes

Background: Congenital dilatation of the bile-duct (CDD) is a rare, mostly sporadic, disorder that results in bile retention with severe associated complications. CDD affects mainly Asians. To our knowledge, no genetic study has ever been conducted. Methods: We aim to identify genetic risk factors by a “trio-based” exome-sequencing approach, whereby 31 CDD probands and their unaffected parents were exome-sequenced. Seven-hundred controls from the local population were used to detect gene-sets significantly enriched with rare variants in CDD patients. Results: Twenty-one predicted damaging de novo variants (DNVs; 4 protein truncating and 17 missense) were identified in several evolutionarily constrained genes (p < 0.01). Six genes carrying DNVs were associated with human developmental disorders involving epithelial, connective or bone morphologies (PXDN, RTEL1, ANKRD11, MAP2K1, CYLD, ACAN) and four linked with cholangio- and hepatocellular carcinomas (PIK3CA, TLN1 CYLD, MAP2K1). Importantly, CDD patients have an excess of DNVs in cancer-related genes (p < 0.025). Thirteen genes were recurrently mutated at different sites, forming compound heterozygotes or functionally related complexes within patients. Conclusions: Our data supports a strong genetic basis for CDD and show that CDD is not only genetically heterogeneous but also non-monogenic, requiring mutations in more than one genes for the disease to develop. The data is consistent with the rarity and sporadic presentation of CDD

Comparative transcriptional profiling of the limbal epithelial crypt demonstrates its putative stem cell niche characteristics

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The Limbal epithelial crypt (LEC) is a solid cord of cells, approximately 120 microns long. It arises from the undersurface of interpalisade rete ridges of the limbal palisades of Vogt and extends deeper into the limbal stroma parallel or perpendicular to the palisade. There are up to 6 or 7 such LEC, variably distributed along the limbus in each human eye.</p> <p>Morphological and immunohistochemical studies on the limbal epithelial crypt (LEC) have demonstrated the presence of limbal stem cells in this region. The purpose of this microarray study was to characterise the transcriptional profile of the LEC and compare with other ocular surface epithelial regions to support our hypothesis that LEC preferentially harbours stem cells (SC).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>LEC was found to be enriched for SC related Gene Ontology (GO) terms including those identified in quiescent adult SC, however similar to cornea, limbus had significant GO terms related to proliferating SC, transient amplifying cells (TAC) and differentiated cells (DC). LEC and limbus were metabolically dormant with low protein synthesis and downregulated cell cycling. Cornea had upregulated genes for cell cycling and self renewal such as <it>FZD7, BTG1, CCNG</it>, and <it>STAT3 </it>which were identified from other SC populations. Upregulated gene expression for growth factors, cytokines, WNT, Notch, TGF-Beta pathways involved in cell proliferation and differentiation were noted in cornea. LEC had highest number of expressed sequence tags (ESTs), downregulated and unknown genes, compared to other regions. Genes expressed in LEC such as <it>CDH1, SERPINF1, LEF1, FRZB1</it>, <it>KRT19, SOD2, EGR1 </it>are known to be involved in SC maintenance. Genes of interest, in LEC belonging to the category of cell adhesion molecules, WNT and Notch signalling pathway were validated with real-time PCR and immunofluorescence.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our transcriptional profiling study identifies the LEC as a preferential site for limbal SC with some characteristics suggesting that it could function as a 'SC niche' supporting quiescent SC. It also strengthens the evidence for the presence of "transient cells" in the corneal epithelium. These cells are immediate progeny of SC with self-renewal capacity and could be responsible for maintaining epithelial turn over in normal healthy conditions of the ocular surface (OS). The limbus has mixed population of differentiated and undifferentiated cells.</p