The Question of ‘Nature’: What has Social Constructionism to offer Feminist Theory?

The question of ‘nature’ is of particular importance for feminist theorizing as feminists have long come to realise that it is often upon this ‘concept’ that the giveness of sexual differences and, consequently, the inferiority of ‘women’, is assumed1. It is against biological determinism that feminists have developed their most powerful theories and critiques of dominant categorisations of ‘women’ (see, for example, de Beauvoir, 19892 ; Rich, 1981). Particularly, both ‘second wave feminists’ generally, and eco-feminists specifically, tended to criticise dominant conceptualisations of women as ‘naturally’ inferior and assert the political importance of reclaiming ‘nature’, ‘the natural’ and ‘the feminine’ from the grip of exploitative scientific patriarchalism (in Kemp and Squires, 1997: 469). However, whereas the question of nature remains extremely important to today’s feminists, post-structuralist feminists have since re-evaluated the latter manoeuvre arguing that it is inadequate, not even desirable, insofar as, paradoxically, it ends up reinforcing exactly these constructed differences between ‘men’ and ‘women’, ‘culture’ and ‘nature’, which they refuse on the basis of their sexualising, racialising and universalising effects (see Butler, 1993; Alcoff in Tong and Tuana, 1995; Flax in Nicholson, 1990). Instead, they are more concerned with problematising ‘nature’ by asserting the social and cultural constructedness of the category ‘women’. According to post-structural feminists, it is only by acknowledging the constructedness of ‘nature’, consequently of ‘women’ (and ‘men’), that ‘spaces for more plural forms of self-identification’ can be created (in Kemp and Squires, 1997: 469)

Between the Exception and Biopolitical Security: A Critical Discourse Analysis of US and EU Securitization Strategies Post -9/11

In line with Carl Schmitt’s characterization of the sovereign as ‘he who decides on the state of exception’, Giorgio Agamben argues that the exception is not only central to contemporary security developments but is increasingly becoming the rule. Starting from a critical exploration of biopolitics and sovereignty in the works of both Agamben and Foucault, through a theoretically informed discursive analysis, this thesis explores three important instances of securitization discourse, whose conceptualizations of sovereignty and security it uses to explain how exactly ‘the (state of) exception’ is generalized in the context of the war on terror. These are two US National Security Strategies (2002; 2006) and the European Security Strategy (2004). What the analysis of these documents, and in particular of the NSSs, demonstrates is that, as Agamben suggests, the exception is indeed essential to an articulation of sovereign power at the national level. It is through the decision on the exception exemplified by the decision on the enemy (i.e., terrorism) and the best means to combat it that the US tries to secure its status as a powerful state, legitimize a global leading role for itself in the war on terror. However, what it also shows is that whilst the theme of emergency is constitutive in different ways of both the US and EU (bio)political foreign policy and sovereignty, the attempt to ‘generalize the (state of) exception’ also relies on other mechanisms of (bio)power or (bio)security. These mechanisms of (bio)security, I argue, are operationalized differently from the logic of exception, but are not unconnected to it. They permit the globalization of (the state of) exception in the form of what I have called a ‘global (bio)emergency-State’, whose primary enabler is the US state and of which the EU is an active, if ‘indirect’, participant. This thesis argues that the logic of exception and security are in fact coextensive. However, contrary to Agamben, it claims that they are not coextensive in the absolute sense of being one and the same as his understanding of biosovereignty implies. They are coextensive in the very specific senses of the logic of exception finding its continuation in the transformation of security into strategic objective at both US national and European level

The Risk of Therapy-Related Myelodysplasia/Acute Myeloid Leukemia in Hodgkin Lymphoma has Substantially Decreased in the ABVD Era Abolishing Mechlorethamine and Procarbazine and Limiting Volumes and Doses of Radiotherapy

Patients with Hodgkin lymphoma treated with DNA-breaking alkylating agents such as mechlorethamine and procarbazine in the MOPP regimen and with topoisomerase II inhibitors, such as etoposide did show a long-term risk of developing therapy-related myelodysplasia and acute myelogenous leukaemia (MDS/AML). With the introduction of the ABVD (adriamycin, bleomycin, vinblastine, dacarbazine) regimen, this risk has substantially been reduced. In this review, different experiences are discussed to determine whether and how modifications of treatment in different cohorts of patients have reduced the overall risk of secondary MDS/AML. These data are drawn from large cohorts of patients treated over time with different therapies with an adequate follow-up

Nutrition Support in Acute Kidney Injury

Acute kidney injury is a frequent complication affecting many hospitalized patients and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Acute kidney injury often occurs in conjunction with critical illness, which is a hypermetabolic state presenting with hyperglycemia, insulin resistance, hypertriglyceridemia, and increased protein catabolism. In addition to addressing these changes, the clinician should evaluate the important nutrition implications of decreased kidney function. These include vitamins, electrolytes, minerals, trace elements, and the presence and type of renal replacement therapy. Optimal nutrition management in acute kidney injury includes providing adequate macronutrient support to correct underlying conditions and prevent ongoing loss, supplementing micronutrients and vitamins during renal replacement therapy, and adjusting electrolyte replacement based on the degree and extent of renal dysfunction

State Racism and the Paradox of Biopower

As it has often been emphasised, through the concept of biopower, Foucault attempts to move away from the problem of sovereign power. Yet, after exposing Foucault’s conceptualisation of biopower, in this article I argue that he cannot simply leave this problem behind. In particular, reflections on Nazism and how the Nazi state uses racism to sustain itself force him to return to the problem of sovereign power to explain how state killing continues to be possible, and actually takes on new and extreme forms, in modern times. These same considerations further complicate the theoretical distinction between biopower and sovereign power put forward, albeit not without hesitations, by Foucault but contested by other authors such as Agamben, while offering an interesting standpoint from which to reconsider the question of sovereignty and its interrelationship to biopower

Intradialytic Aerobic Exercise in the United Arab Emirates: a Descriptive Study

Aim: Intradialytic exercise (IDE) improves hyperphosphatemia management in hemodialysis (HD) patient in addition to other clinical outcomes. The aim of the study is to present the strategies needed to integrate such a protocol in an HD unit in UAE and patients’ baseline characteristics.Methods: The largest HD unit in Sharjah emirate was chosen. All eligible patients (n=57) in the unit were included. Patients were stable adults HD patients who served as their own controls. The intervention included an aerobic low intensity IDE of 45 minutes per HD session, tailored to each patient’s fitness scale (BORG scale) for 6 months. Patients were educated on the importance of exercise. Outcome measures were barriers to exercise, serum phosphorus (P), urea reduction ratio (URR), malnutrition inflammation score, quality of life (QOL using euroqol5) collected at baseline and post intervention.Results: A total of 41 patients completed the study, 61% were males; 90.2%, 53.7% and 14.6% suffered from hypertension, diabetes and cardiovascular disease respectively. Hypherphosphatemia was prevalent among 75% of the patients with a mean of 5.76 ± 1.66 mg/dl. Mean age was 48 ± 14.37 years, BMI 24.98 ± 6.09 kg/m2, URR 71.88 ± 8.52%, and Kt/v 1.32 ± 1.09. The main barrier to exercise was identified to be fatigue on HD days by 58.5% of patients, followed by fear of getting hurt (36.6%). Finally, 80.4% of patients were mildly malnourished and QOL scale was 65.02% ± 18.54. Conclusion: Our study highlighted the widespread of hyperphosphatemia and malnutrition in our sample. The IDE regimen, if proven effective in future studies, could be integrated in the routine practice and may improve patients’ outcomes. 

Aldo Noseda e Bernard Berenson

Aldo Noseda e Bernard Berenso

A Marginal Note to “Four Sistine Ethiopians?”

With reference to Marco Bonechi’s article in this issue of Aethiopica, the present paper briefly surveys the evidence for the 1481 Ethiopian “embassy” to Pope Sixtus IV and then explores the possibility of identifying Anthony, head of that embassy, with “Fra Antonio Abissino” portrayed, most likely before 1527 by a painter called Schizzone, on the now lost tramezzo (‘choir screen’) of the Vatican church of Santo Stefano dei Mori

Attitudes and Barriers to Physical Activity in Hemodialysis Patients: Could Intradialytic Exercise Modify These Factors?

Introduction: This study pioneers in determining the impact of Intradialytic Exercise (IDE) on attitudes and barriers to Physical Activity (PA) in Hemodialysis (HD) patients in the United Arab Emirates, a non-western country with different cultural backgrounds. Subjects and Methods: Forty-one adult HD patients from Al-Qassimi Hospital were recruited for a quasi-experimental intervention with pre-post evaluation. IDE patients trained for 45 minutes per HD session, 2-3 times per week, for 6 months on a static bicycle. Exercise intensity was assessed using the Borg Scale. Participants were educated on the importance of exercise. Results: 30 patients completed the study. The percentage of patients exercising was higher post intervention, but dropped to baseline at the follow up period. At post intervention and follow-up, patient’s knowledge about the benefits and safety of exercise increased, with some patients facing no barrier to PA at the end of the study (p=0.05). There was a significant increase in patients endorsing the “too many medical problems” barrier, and a significant decrease in patients endorsing the “can’t afford to exercise” barrier. Nephrologists and nurses acknowledge the importance of exercise in HD patients, but the former do not prescribe it. Conclusions: Aerobic IDE and knowledge empowerment programs could help HD patients increase their knowledge about exercise benefits and safety and shed some barriers to exercise, although patients appear to easily fall back into their normal habits. Even after an IDE program was adopted in the unit, the medical team is still concerned about the risks of exercise in HD patients