Effect of 2-N-mono- and 2-N-diethylaminoethanol on normal and choline-deficient rats

In rats, the acute oral LD50 value of neutralized 2-N-monoethylaminoethanol (MEAE) was found to be 1.0 (0.68-1.35) g/kg. The acute oral toxicity of MEAE, but not that of 2-N-diethylaminoethanol (DEAE) could be largely reversed by simultaneous or subsequent ingestion of choline. MEAE partially prevented the development of fatty liver in choline-deficient rats. No reversal of depressed growth rate was noted in choline-deficient animals whose diets were supplemented with either MEAE or DEAE.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/33393/1/0000792.pd

Context-bound Islamic theodicies: The tsunami as supernatural retribution versus natural catastrophe in Southern Thailand

After the tsunami of 26 December 2004, local discourses in the prevalently Muslim Satun province in Southern Thailand were characterized by religious interpretations of the disaster. The range of Islamic interpretations varied, and was far from homogeneous. Statements are framed in plural theodicies and ultimately impute disasters to human responsibility, in apparent contrast to both scientific explanations and other Islamic tenets. The aim of this article is to present the range of theodicies associated with the event and to analyze their use in relation to the specific socio-historical and ethno-political context, in the words of people belonging to the Islamic and Buddhist religious élites. In these examples religious discourses leave behind the theological universalistic explanations of the existence of suffering and evil to become context bound commentaries on the state of morality of local communities, with the aim of defining social boundaries