In search of a working notion of lex sportiva

The emergence of a lex specialis regime and its interaction with the established, governing lex generalis in their overlapping spheres of application is always an intriguing legal relationship to explore. In this article, the focus will be on the development of legal principles and rules that have been/can be collectively described as lex sportiva. However, it is notable that those involved in the consideration, usage and application of this notion have not agreed as to the scope and delimitation of the concept. It is debated whether lex sportiva exists in the first place, its legal sources and its purpose. The risk is for the concept becoming redundant when not vilified as a hidden strategy to exclude non-sports-related law from the ambit of sport. Through an examination of the different propositions to the framework of the term, this article will shed light on the existence, utility and limits of the development of this conceptualisation

The concept of remembrance in Walter Benjamin

This thesis argues that the role played by the concept of remembrance (Eingedenken) in Walter Benjamin's 'theory of the knowledge of history' and in his engagement with Enlightenment universal history, is a crucial one. The implications of Benjamin's contention that history's 'original vocation' is 'remembrance' have hitherto gone largely unnoticed. The following thesis explores the meaning of the concept of remembrance and assesses the significance of this proposed link between history and memory, looking at both the mnemonic aspect of history and the historical facets of memory. It argues that by mobilising the simultaneously destructive and constructive capacities of remembrance, Benjamin sought to develop a critical historiography which would enable a radical encounter with a previously suppressed past. In so doing he takes up a stance (explicit and implicit) towards existing philosophical conceptions of history, in particular the idea of universal history found in German Idealism. Benjamin reveals an intention to retain the epistemological aspirations of universal history whilst ridding that approach of its apologetic moment. He criticises existing conceptions of history on the basis that each assumes homogeneous time to be the framework in which historical events occur. Insight into the distinctive temporality of remembrance proves to be the touchstone for this critique, and provides a paradigm for a very different conception of time. The thesis goes on to determine what is valid and what is problematic both in this concept of remembrance and in the theory of historical knowledge which it informs, by subjecting both to the most cogent criticisms which can be levelled at them. What emerges is not only the importance of this concept for an understanding of Benjamin's philosophy but the pertinence of this concept for any philosophical account of memory

Chemical–Genetic Profiling of Imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines and -Pyrimidines Reveals Target Pathways Conserved between Yeast and Human Cells

Small molecules have been shown to be potent and selective probes to understand cell physiology. Here, we show that imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines and imidazo[1,2-a]pyrimidines compose a class of compounds that target essential, conserved cellular processes. Using validated chemogenomic assays in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, we discovered that two closely related compounds, an imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine and -pyrimidine that differ by a single atom, have distinctly different mechanisms of action in vivo. 2-phenyl-3-nitroso-imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine was toxic to yeast strains with defects in electron transport and mitochondrial functions and caused mitochondrial fragmentation, suggesting that compound 13 acts by disrupting mitochondria. By contrast, 2-phenyl-3-nitroso-imidazo[1,2-a]pyrimidine acted as a DNA poison, causing damage to the nuclear DNA and inducing mutagenesis. We compared compound 15 to known chemotherapeutics and found resistance required intact DNA repair pathways. Thus, subtle changes in the structure of imidazo-pyridines and -pyrimidines dramatically alter both the intracellular targeting of these compounds and their effects in vivo. Of particular interest, these different modes of action were evident in experiments on human cells, suggesting that chemical–genetic profiles obtained in yeast are recapitulated in cultured cells, indicating that our observations in yeast can: (1) be leveraged to determine mechanism of action in mammalian cells and (2) suggest novel structure–activity relationships