Global standards of Constitutional law : epistemology and methodology

Just as it led the philosophy of science to gravitate around scientific practice, the abandonment of all foundationalist aspirations has already begun making political philosophy into an attentive observer of the new ways in which constitutional law is practiced. Yet paradoxically, lawyers and legal scholars are not those who understand this the most clearly. Beyond analyzing the jurisprudence that has emerged from the expansion of constitutional justice, and taking into account the development of international and regional law, the ongoing globalization of constitutional law requires comparing the constitutional laws of individual nations. Following Waldron, the product of this new legal science can be considered as ius gentium. This legal science is not as well established as one might like to think. But it can be developed on the grounds of the practice that consists in ascertaining standards. As abstract types of best “practices” (and especially norms) of constitutional law from around the world, these are only a source of law in a substantive, not a formal, sense. They thus belong to what I should like to call a “second order legal positivity.” In this article I will undertake, both at a methodological and an epistemological level, the development of a model for ascertaining global standards of constitutional law

Magna Carta, the Rule of Law and the Limits on Government

This paper surveys the legal tradition that links Magna Carta with the modern concepts of the rule of law and the limits on government. It documents that the original understanding of the rule of law included substantive commitments to individual freedom and limited government. Then, it attempts at explaining how and why such commitments were lost to a formalist interpretation of the rule of law from 1848 to 1939. The paper concludes by arguing how a revival of the substantive commitments of the rule of law is central in a project of reshaping modern states

Interleukin-4 enhances the in vitro precursor cell recruitment for tumor-specific T lymphocytes in patients with glioblastoma

Previously the authors showed that interleukin-4 (IL-4), used in combination with IL-2, increases the reduced proliferation rate of T cells of glioblastomabearing patients after in vitro autologous immunization. In this report, they sought to determine whether this effect is caused by a direct mitogenic effect of IL-4, or rather by an indirect effect through an increased expression of the IL-2 receptor subunits or an enhanced recruitment of responsive cells. Flow cytometric analysis confined that the IL-2 receptor subunits are less expressed on circulating T cells from patients with glioblastoma than on those from healthy donors. Because no significant modification of the expression of the p55 and p75 subunits of the IL-2 receptor is observed in cultures treated with both IL-2 and IL-4, the reported enhanced proliferation rate cannot be attributed to an increased level of IL-2 receptor expression. Limiting dilution assays, using autologous target cell immunization, show that treatment with both cytokines (IL-2 plus IL-4) significantly increases the number of recruitable precursor cells without affecting their proliferation rate. These results indicate that IL-4 facilitates an immune response against the autologous tumor cells in glioblastoma-bearing patients by increasing the recruitable precursor T-cell frequency

Topographical distribution in the adult rat brain of neurotrophic activities directed to central nervous system targets.

Cortex, hippocampus, septum and striatum of day 18 rat embryos were grafted to several brain regions of young adult rats which had been lesioned in the chosen area 4 days earlier. Thirty days after transplantation, the grafts were fixed and morphometrically analysed under light microscope. The volumes, neuronal densities and total number of neurons of the transplants were compared. Each graft survived best when transplanted to its original region. Good survival was also achieved by heterotopic grafts between regions that are anatomically related. Striatal grafts showed reasonable survival only when transplanted to their original site. In a second series of experiences, the neurons from the same embryonic brain regions were cultured in a defined medium, to which was added tissue extracts from the lesioned regions of the adult brain. The neuronal survival was estimated. The in vitro results are closely related to those obtained in vivo. This experimental evidence agrees with the theory of the existence of a retrograde transport of NGF from the hippocampus to the septum, sustaining the survival of the latter. On the other hand, our results demonstrate the existence of other unidentified neurotrophic factors in the central nervous system which differ from one region to another

Adhesion Properties of Polypropylene To Aluminum - Influence of Polymer Grafting and Thermal History

Polypropylene (PP) powder was hot-pressed between aluminium foils and the adhesion was examined by a peel test. A measurable adhesion was observed with the grafted polymer. By grafting 3-azido-sulphonyl benzoic acid onto PP, the chemical composition of the adhesion failure zones was monitored by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, using N and S as markers. Adhesion was improved by purifying the grafted polymer before pressing against aluminium. Purification eliminates ungrafted polar molecules which form a weak boundary layer at the interface with the Al adherend. Adhesion was also very much dependent on the thermal history of the hot-pressed aluminium/polypropylene/aluminium laminates. Quenching increased the peel strength dramatically, whereas annealing after quenching decreased it. This is interpreted in terms of the structure and ductility of the polymer. The adhesion of PP to aluminium thus depends on the interplay between the affinity of grafted macromolecules with the adherend, the formation of a weak boundary layer, and the bulk properties of the polymer

Morphological aspects of rat brain after intracerebral administration of Alzheimer brain homogenates.

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Suloctidil increases the rat brain cortex microvascular regeneration after a lesion.

A "cavity" lesion made by aspiration in the rat occipital cortex induces a parenchymal and a vascular reaction in its vicinity. The first was mainly characterized by cellular necrosis and gliosis, the second by an increase of the vascular network. In vehicle treated rats, a 50% significant increase of the vascular network was observed around the cavity 4 days after the lesion, in comparison to the uninjured contralateral cortex. The effects of a vasoactive substance, suloctidil, on the vascular reaction was studied in the brain cortex. A single oral dose of suloctidil (30 mg/kg; 2 hours before the sacrifice) gave the same effect as the vehicle group. After 8 days of suloctidil oral administration (30 mg/kg; twice daily: 4 days before lesion and 4 days after) a significant increase (123%) of the vascular network was observed around the cavity. The hypothetical ways by which a chronic treatment of suloctidil induces this increase of the neovascularization observed after cortical lesion are discussed

Non traumatic osteonecrosis of the femoral head is associated with low bone mass

Objective Osteoporosis (OP) and osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH) share common clinical and pathophysiological features we sought to determine whether ONFH was associated with an increased prevalence of OP and whether the increased prevalence of OP was related to the stage of ONFH at diagnosis. Methods We included 243 patients with ONFH and 399 age and sex-matched healthy controls. Data was gathered including demography, risk factors, ARCO staging of ONFH and bone mineral density (BMD). Results Overall, BMD (defined by the T-score) was significantly lower in the ONFH group at both the femoral head (− 0.96 ± 1.11) and the lumbar spine (− 1.22 ± 1.47) compared to the control group (− 0.55 ± 0.97 and − 0.73 ± 1.31) (p < 0.01). The ONFH group depicted a significantly higher proportion of osteopenia (50.39% vs 40.87%, p = 0.027) and of OP (18.78% vs 7.33%, p < 0.001) relative to the control group. Stage 1 and 2 ONFH patients (53.86%, p = 0.0203; OR = 1.54 (95% CI: [1.04; 2.29])) were at a higher risk of osteopenia than the control group (40.88%), but not stages 3 or 4 (48.47%, p = 0.2569; OR = 1.27 (95% CI: [0.78; 2.06]). Patients with stage 3 or 4 ONFH (25.31%, p < 0.001; OR = 3.93 (95% CI: [1.63; 10.96])) were at a higher risk of osteoporosis than patients in the stage 1 and 2 ONFH (7.24%), and compared to the control group (7.33%, adj. p-value < 0.001; OR = 4.89 (95% CI: [2.77; 8.76]). Conclusions Non-traumatic osteonecrosis of the femoral heads is associated with low bone mineral density. This study showed that fractural stages ONFH were associated with a 5-fold risk of osteoporosis.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe