Problems of intellectual and political accountability in respect of emerging european Roma policy

Der vorliegende Beitrag untersucht die neuere europäische Politik von Institutionen und Intellektuellen gegenüber Roma-Minderheiten seit Anfang der 90er Jahre. Der Autor zeigt auf, dass die Roma-Politik einen neuen Streitpunkt darstellt, da sie immer mehr die Interessen der Mainstream-Institutionen reflektierte und die Interessen der Menschen und Gemeinden weniger berücksichtigt wurden. Die Roma-Angelegenheiten wurden zunehmend in kultureller Hinsicht als eine Art der Diskriminierung definiert, ohne dass die Merkmale und Ursachen der objektiven Probleme vieler Roma benannt wurden, nämlich Armut, Arbeitslosigkeit, schlechte Wohnverhältnisse, mangelnde Gesundheitsversorgung. Die Rolle von Intellektuellen sollte es dabei sein, Methoden und Theorien für die praktische Politik zu entwickeln, die diese in die Lage versetzen, die hochkomplexen Bedingungen zu verstehen, unter denen die unter dem Begriff Roma zusammengefassten, sehr unterschiedlichen Menschen leben. Bis jetzt ist dieses Ziel nicht erreicht worden, zum Teil deshalb, weil die Grenzen zwischen Wissenschaftlern und Praktikern verwischt wurden. (ICD

The political significance of the first national gypsy minority self-government (Orszagos Cigany Kisebbsegi Önkormanyzat)

Der vorliegende Beitrag untersucht die Aktivitäten der ersten nationalen Regierung von Roma-Minderheiten in Ungarn (1995-98). Das ungarische Modell der Repräsentation von Roma-Minderheiten ist das Ergebnis von Konflikten und Spannungen, die zum einen durch die Desintegration der Roma im politischen und sozialen System hervorgerufen werden und zum anderen durch die Wettbewerbsfähigkeit sich entwickelnder politischer Aktivitäten. Der Autor geht zunächst auf die Politisierung der Roma seit Mitte des 20. Jahrhunderts ein und stellt fest, dass diese seit 1995 einen nationalen Ausdruck findet. Danach werden die Entwicklung der Roma-Interessensvertretung und die Folgen auf die Roma-Bevölkerung behandelt. Im Anschluss daran geht der Autor ausführlich auf die nationale Regierung von Roma-Minderheiten ein und erklärt deren Struktur und Initiativen. Danach wird untersucht, wie diese Regierung ihre Macht und Einflussmöglichkeiten ausbaute, besonders berücksichtigt wird dabei der mittelfristige Aktionsplan. (ICD

SCOPE New Photographic Practices

The photographic practices brought together for this exhibition and publication provide a broad scope of how photographic and lens based media may be used in order to have a visceral and conceptual impact. The methods on show demonstrate the way that artists might pick and choose from the approaches, processes and debates that have arisen through the medium’s history. This collection of work features film, video and photography that demand a renegotiation of the relationship between camera, subject and viewer. Visual Art Centre Gallery, Tsinghua University, Beijing, Chin

Europe

This chapter reviews the scientific evidence published since the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) on observed and projected impacts of anthropogenic climate change in Europe and adaptation responses. The geographical scope of this chapter is the same as in AR4 with the inclusion of Turkey. Thus, the European region includes all countries from Iceland in the west to the Russian Federation (west of the Urals) and the Caspian Sea in the east, and from the northern shores of the Mediterranean and Black Seas and the Caucasus in the south to the Arctic Ocean in the north. Impacts above the Arctic Circle are addressed in Chapter 28 and impacts in the Baltic and Mediterranean Seas in Chapter 30. Impacts in Malta, Cyprus, and other island states in Europe are discussed in Chapter 29. The European region has been divided into five sub-regions: Atlantic, Alpine, Southern, Northern, and Continental. The sub-regions are derived by aggregating the climate zones developed by Metzger et al. (2005) and therefore represent geographical and ecological zones rather than political boundaries. The scientific evidence has been evaluated to compare impacts across (rather than within) sub-regions, although this was not always possible depending on the scientific information available

Elucidating the aetiology of human Campylobacter coli infections

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Cytokine-mediated degradation of the transcription factor ERG impacts the pulmonary vascular response to systemic inflammatory challenge

BACKGROUND: During infectious diseases, proinflammatory cytokines transiently destabilize interactions between adjacent vascular endothelial cells (ECs) to facilitate the passage of immune molecules and cells into tissues. However, in the lung, the resulting vascular hyperpermeability can lead to organ dysfunction. Previous work identified the transcription factor ERG (erythroblast transformation-specific-related gene) as a master regulator of endothelial homeostasis. Here we investigate whether the sensitivity of pulmonary blood vessels to cytokine-induced destabilization is due to organotypic mechanisms affecting the ability of endothelial ERG to protect lung ECs from inflammatory injury. METHODS: Cytokine-dependent ubiquitination and proteasomal degradation of ERG were analyzed in cultured HUVECs (human umbilical vein ECs). Systemic administration of TNFα (tumor necrosis factor alpha) or the bacterial cell wall component lipopolysaccharide was used to cause a widespread inflammatory challenge in mice; ERG protein levels were assessed by immunoprecipitation, immunoblot, and immunofluorescence. Murine Erg deletion was genetically induced in ECs (Ergfl/fl;Cdh5[PAC]-CreERT2), and multiple organs were analyzed by histology, immunostaining, and electron microscopy. RESULTS: In vitro, TNFα promoted the ubiquitination and degradation of ERG in HUVECs, which was blocked by the proteasomal inhibitor MG132. In vivo, systemic administration of TNFα or lipopolysaccharide resulted in a rapid and substantial degradation of ERG within lung ECs but not ECs of the retina, heart, liver, or kidney. Pulmonary ERG was also downregulated in a murine model of influenza infection. Ergfl/fl;Cdh5(PAC)-CreERT2 mice spontaneously recapitulated aspects of inflammatory challenges, including lung-predominant vascular hyperpermeability, immune cell recruitment, and fibrosis. These phenotypes were associated with a lung-specific decrease in the expression of Tek-a gene target of ERG previously implicated in maintaining pulmonary vascular stability during inflammation. CONCLUSIONS: Collectively, our data highlight a unique role for ERG in pulmonary vascular function. We propose that cytokine-induced ERG degradation and subsequent transcriptional changes in lung ECs play critical roles in the destabilization of pulmonary blood vessels during infectious diseases

Historical biome distribution and recent human disturbance shape the diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi

The availability of global microbial diversity data, collected using standardized metabarcoding techniques, makes microorganisms promising models for investigating the role of regional and local factors in driving biodiversity. Here we modelled the global diversity of symbiotic arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi using currently available data on AM fungal molecular diversity (small subunit (SSU) ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene sequences) in field samples. To differentiate between regional and local effects, we estimated species pools (sets of potentially suitable taxa) for each site, which are expected to reflect regional processes. We then calculated community completeness, an index showing the fraction of the species pool present, which is expected to reflect local processes. We found significant spatial variation, globally in species pool size, as well as in local and dark diversity (absent members of the species pool). Species pool size was larger close to areas containing tropical grasslands during the last glacial maximum, which are possible centres of diversification. Community completeness was greater in regions of high wilderness (remoteness from human disturbance). Local diversity was correlated with wilderness and current connectivity to mountain grasslands. Applying the species pool concept to symbiotic fungi facilitated a better understanding of how biodiversity can be jointly shaped by large-scale historical processes and recent human disturbance

The Health Effects of Climate Change: A Survey of Recent Quantitative Research

In recent years there has been a large scientific and public debate on climate change and its direct as well as indirect effects on human health. In particular, a large amount of research on the effects of climate changes on human health has addressed two fundamental questions. First, can historical data be of some help in revealing how short-run or long-run climate variations affect the occurrence of infectious diseases? Second, is it possible to build more accurate quantitative models which are capable of predicting the future effects of different climate conditions on the transmissibility of particularly dangerous infectious diseases? The primary goal of this paper is to review the most relevant contributions which have directly tackled those questions, both with respect to the effects of climate changes on the diffusion of non-infectious and infectious diseases, with malaria as a case study. Specific attention will be drawn on the methodological aspects of each study, which will be classified according to the type of quantitative model considered, namely time series models, panel data and spatial models, and non-statistical approaches. Since many different disciplines and approaches are involved, a broader view is necessary in order to provide a better understanding of the interactions between climate and health. In this respect, our paper also presents a critical summary of the recent literature related to more general aspects of the impacts of climate changes on human health, such as: the economics of climate change; how to manage the health effects of climate change; the establishment of Early Warning Systems for infectious diseases

Adjuvant Properties of Thermal Component of Hyperthermia Enhanced Transdermal Immunization: Effect on Dendritic Cells

Hyperthermia enhanced transdermal (HET) immunization is a novel needle free immunization strategy employing application of antigen along with mild local hyperthermia (42°C) to intact skin resulting in detectable antigen specific Ig in serum. In the present study, we investigated the adjuvant effect of thermal component of HET immunization in terms of maturation of dendritic cells and its implication on the quality of the immune outcome in terms of antibody production upon HET immunization with tetanus toxoid (TT). We have shown that in vitro hyperthermia exposure at 42°C for 30 minutes up regulates the surface expression of maturation markers on bone marrow derived DCs. This observation correlated in vivo with an increased and accelerated expression of maturation markers on DCs in the draining lymph node upon HET immunization in mice. This effect was found to be independent of the antigen delivered and depends only on the thermal component of HET immunization. In vitro hyperthermia also led to enhanced capacity to stimulate CD4+ T cells in allo MLR and promotes the secretion of IL-10 by BMDCs, suggesting a potential for Th2 skewing of T cell response. HET immunization also induced a systemic T cell response to TT, as suggested by proliferation of splenocytes from immunized animal upon in vitro stimulation by TT. Exposure to heat during primary immunization led to generation of mainly IgG class of antibodies upon boosting, similar to the use of conventional alum adjuvant, thus highlighting the adjuvant potential of heat during HET immunization. Lastly, we have shown that mice immunized by tetanus toxoid using HET route exhibited protection against challenge with a lethal dose of tetanus toxin. Thus, in addition to being a painless, needle free delivery system it also has an immune modulatory potential

Volcanic Gases:Silent Killers

This is the accepted manuscript. The final version is available at http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F11157_2015_14.Volcanic gases are insidious and often overlooked hazards. The effects of volcanic gases on life may be direct, such as asphyxiation, respiratory diseases and skin burns; or indirect, e.g. regional famine caused by the cooling that results from the presence of sulfate aerosols injected into the stratosphere during explosive eruptions. Although accounting for fewer fatalities overall than some other forms of volcanic hazards, history has shown that volcanic gases are implicated frequently in small-scale fatal events in diverse volcanic and geothermal regions. In order to mitigate risks due to volcanic gases, we must identify the challenges. The first relates to the difficulty of monitoring and hazard communication: gas concentrations may be elevated over large areas and may change rapidly with time. Developing alert and early warning systems that will be communicated in a timely fashion to the population is logistically difficult. The second challenge focuses on education and understanding risk. An effective response to warnings requires an educated population and a balanced weighing of conflicting cultural beliefs or economic interests with risk. In the case of gas hazards, this may also mean having the correct personal protection equipment, knowing where to go in case of evacuation and being aware of increased risk under certain sets of meteorological conditions. In this chapter we review several classes of gas hazard, the risks associated with them, potential risk mitigation strategies and ways of communicating risk. We discuss carbon dioxide flows and accumulations, including lake overturn events which have accounted for the greatest number of direct fatalities, the hazards arising from the injection of sulfate aerosol into the troposphere and into the stratosphere. A significant hazard facing the UK and northern Europe is a “Laki”-style eruption in Iceland, which will be associated with increased risk of respiratory illness and mortality due to poor air quality when gases and aerosols are dispersed over Europe. We discuss strategies for preparing for a future Laki style event and implications for society