Regional vs. global democracy: Possibilities and limitations

El siguiente texto corresponde al capítulo 15 de Gould, Carol C., Interactive Democracy. The Social Roots of Global Justice, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2014. La autora persigue un doble objetivo: profundizar en la democracia y aumentar la protección de los derechos humanos como modo de encarar problemas de justicia global como la cada vez mayor desigualdad económica y la pobreza. Su reto es hallar la forma de abordar ambos frentes desde el plano local, regional y global. El presente trabajo arroja nueva luz sobre cómo el desarrollo de formas regionales de democracia, limitadas por acuerdos regionales de derechos humanos, constituye una importante, y a menudo olvidada área de interés para la teoría normativaThe following text corresponds to chapter 15 of Gould, Carol C., Interactive Democracy. The Social Roots of Global Justice, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2014. The author pursues a dual objective: to deepen democracy and increase the protection of Human Rights as a way of dealing with problems of global justice such as the increasing economic inequality and poverty. Her challenge is to find ways to address both fronts from local, regional and global levels. This paper sheds new light on how the development of regional forms of democracy bounded by regional human rights agreements constitutes an important, and often forgotten focus for normative theor

Diversity, Democracy and Dialogue in a Human Rights Framework

Papers presented for the Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Western Michigan University, November 3, 200

On The Uneasy Relation Between International Law And Democracy

The question we are asked to address is as follows: Is international law a threat to democracy? As a political philosopher, my inclination is to suggest that the answer requires clarifying at the outset the sense in which we are using each of the main terms here

“You're in a World of Chaos”: Experiences Accessing HIV Care and Adhering to Medications After Incarceration

Most HIV-infected inmates leave prison with a suppressed viral load; many, however, become disconnected from care and non-adherent to medications during reentry to community life. In this secondary data analysis of focus groups (N = 6) and in-depth interviews (N = 9) with 46 formerly incarcerated HIV-infected people during reentry, we used an inductive analytic approach to explore the interplay between individual, interpersonal, community, and structural factors and HIV management. Participants described barriers and facilitators to care engagement and adherence at each of these 4 levels, as well as a milieu of HIV and incarceration-related stigma and discrimination. The constellation of barriers and facilitators created competing demands and a sense of chaos in participants’ lives, which led them to address reentry-related basic needs (e.g., housing, food) before health care needs. Interventions that simultaneously address multiple levels, including augmenting employment and housing opportunities, enhancing social support, and reducing stigma, are needed

Evaluation of mercury stabilization mechanisms by sulfurized biochars determined using X-ray absorption spectroscopy

The final publication is available at Elsevier via http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2017.12.051 © 2018. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/The application of biochar to treat mercury (Hg) in the environment is being proposed on an increasing basis due to its widespread availability and cost effectiveness. However, the efficiency of Hg removal by biochars is variable due to differences in source material composition. In this study, a series of batch tests were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of sulfurized biochars (calcium polysulfide and a dimercapto-related compound, respectively) for Hg removal; Hg-loaded biochars were then characterized using synchrotron-based techniques. Concentrations of Hg decreased by >99.5% in solutions containing the sulfurized biochars. Sulfur X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) analyses indicate a polysulfur-like structure in polysulfide-sulfurized biochar and a thiol-like structure (shifted compared to dimercapto) in the dimercapto-sulfurized biochar. Micro-X-ray fluorescence (μ-XRF) mapping and confocal X-ray micro-fluorescence imaging (CXMFI) analyses indicate Hg is distributed primarily on the edges of sulfurized biochar and throughout unmodified biochar particles. Hg extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) analyses show Hg in enriched areas is bound to chlorine (Cl) in the unmodified biochar and to S in sulfurized biochars. These results indicate that Hg removal efficiency is enhanced after sulfurization through the formation of strong bonds (Hg-S) with S-functional groups in the sulfurized biochars.Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company Canada Research Chair progra

The complete genome, comparative and functional analysis of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia reveals an organism heavily shielded by drug resistance determinants

The complete Stenotrophomonas maltophilia genome sequence suggests that it can act as a reservoir of antibiotic resistance determinants

Super Resolution Microscopy Reveals that Caveolin-1 Is Required for Spatial Organization of CRFB1 and Subsequent Antiviral Signaling in Zebrafish

10.1371/journal.pone.0068759PLoS ONE87-POLN

A Longitudinal Analysis of Violence and Housing Insecurity

Violence and housing insecurity are horrible events that may be intertwined, with violence possibly forcing victims to abandon their accommodations and housing insecurity depriving people of the safety of a home or placing them in compromised circumstances. This study uses national, prospective, longitudinal data from the Journeys Home Survey to examine how violence, housing insecurity, and other characteristics in one period affect disadvantaged Australian men's and women's chances of experiencing violence and housing insecurity in subsequent periods. The study is one of the first to investigate these relationships prospectively and unusual in considering how violence among adult men contributes to their housing insecurity. We estimate dynamic multivariate models that control for observed and time-invariant unobserved characteristics and find that men's chances of being housing secure without experiencing violence are 24-45 percent lower and women's chances are 12- 20 percent lower if they experienced housing insecurity, violence or both in the previous period. Heavy drinking, marijuana use, psychological distress, and a history of childhood abuse and neglect also increase the risks of violence and housing insecurity for both genders, while the presence of children reduces these risks. Women who are bisexual or lesbian and women with homeless friends also face elevated risks of housing insecurity, while men's sexual orientation and friend networks seem less relevant

Breast cancer chemoprevention: beyond tamoxifen

A large number of new potential chemoprevention agents are available that target molecular abnormalities found in estrogen receptor (ER)-negative and/or ER-positive precancerous breast tissue and have side effect profiles that differ from tamoxifen. Classes of agents currently undergoing evaluation in clinical prevention trials or those for which testing is planned in the near future include new selective ER modulators, aromatase inactivators/inhibitors, gonadotrophin-releasing hormone agonists, monoterpenes, isoflavones, retinoids, rexinoids, vitamin D derivatives, and inhibitors of tyrosine kinase, cyclooxygenase-2, and polyamine synthesis. New clinical testing models will use morphological and molecular biomarkers to select candidates at highest short-term risk, to predict the response to a particular class of agent, and to assess the response in phase II prevention trials. If validated, morphological and molecular markers could eventually replace cancer incidence as an indicator of efficacy in future phase III trials

Rheumatoid arthritis - treatment: 180. Utility of Body Weight Classified Low-Dose Leflunomide in Japanese Rheumatoid Arthritis

Background: In Japan, more than 20 rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients died of interstitial pneumonia (IP) caused by leflunomide (LEF) were reported, but many of them were considered as the victims of opportunistic infection currently. In this paper, efficacy and safety of low-dose LEF classified by body weight (BW) were studied. Methods: Fifty-nine RA patients were started to administrate LEF from July 2007 to July 2009. Among them, 25 patients were excluded because of the combination with tacrolimus, and medication modification within 3 months before LEF. Remaining 34 RA patients administered 20 to 50 mg/week of LEF were followed up for 1 year and enrolled in this study. Dose of LEF was classified by BW (50 mg/week for over 50 kg, 40 mg/week for 40 to 50 kg and 20 to 30 mg/week for under 40 kg). The average age and RA duration of enrolled patients were 55.5 years old and 10.2 years. Prednisolone (PSL), methotrexate (MTX) and etanercept were used in 23, 28 and 2 patients, respectively. In case of insufficient response or adverse effect, dosage change or discontinuance of LEF were considered. Failure was defined as dosages up of PSL and MTX, or dosages down or discontinuance of LEF. Last observation carried forward method was used for the evaluation of failed patients at 1 year. Results: At 1 year after LEF start, good/ moderate/ no response assessed by the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) response criteria using Disease Activity Score, including a 28-joint count (DAS28)-C reactive protein (CRP) were showed in 14/ 10/ 10 patients, respectively. The dosage changes of LEF at 1 year were dosage up: 10, same dosage: 5, dosage down: 8 and discontinuance: 11 patients. The survival rate of patients in this study was 23.5% (24 patients failed) but actual LEF continuous rate was 67.6% (11 patients discontinued) at 1 year. The major reason of failure was liver dysfunction, and pneumocystis pneumonia was occurred in 1 patient resulted in full recovery. One patient died of sepsis caused by decubitus ulcer infection. DAS28-CRP score was decreased from 3.9 to 2.7 significantly. Although CRP was decreased from 1.50 to 0.93 mg/dl, it wasn't significant. Matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-3 was decreased from 220.0 to 174.2 ng/ml significantly. Glutamate pyruvate transaminase (GPT) was increased from 19 to 35 U/l and number of leukocyte was decreased from 7832 to 6271 significantly. DAS28-CRP, CRP, and MMP-3 were improved significantly with MTX, although they weren't without MTX. Increase of GPT and leukopenia were seen significantly with MTX, although they weren't without MTX. Conclusions: It was reported that the risks of IP caused by LEF in Japanese RA patients were past IP history, loading dose administration and low BW. Addition of low-dose LEF is a potent safe alternative for the patients showing unsatisfactory response to current medicines, but need to pay attention for liver function and infection caused by leukopenia, especially with MTX. Disclosure statement: The authors have declared no conflicts of interes