Luis de Molina on Rights as Limits for Legislation

Luis de Molina's Concept of Law shows similarities with aspects of R. Dworkin's Thought. In general, Modern discourse is useful for a proper analysis of Molina's rights-based legal theory, which, in turn, proves to be Modern. Thus, some elements of the present rights debate, for example between election theorists and interest theorists, are discussed with reference to Molina by showing how he uses ius in the sense of law as the basis of his legal theory. A central role is given to the concept of dominium, which helps to clarify what rights human beings can have and where their limits lie. At the same time, the way Molina uses that term also limits the power of human authorities over individuals, without claiming a human right to inalienable freedom: a person's freedom belongs to his dominium, so he can sell himself as a slave in certain circumstances.El concepto de derecho de Luis de Molina muestra semejanzas con aspectos del pensamiento de R. Dworkin. En general, el discurso moderno es útil para realizar un análisis adecuado de la teoría legal basada en derechos de Molina, la cual, a su vez, se revela como moderna. Por ello algunos elementos del debate presente sobre derechos, por ejemplo entre teóricos de la elección y teóricos del interés, son discutidos con referencia a Molina demostrando de qué modo él hace uso del ius en el sentido de derecho como base de su teoría legal. Un papel central se otorga al concepto de dominium, que ayuda a clarificar qué derechos pueden tener los seres humanos y dónde están sus límites. Al mismo tiempo, la manera como Molina usa ese término también limita el poder de las autoridades humanas sobre individuos, sin reivindicar un derecho humano a la libertad inalienable: la libertad de una persona pertenece a su dominium, por lo tanto ella puede venderse a sí misma como esclava en ciertas circunstancias

Untersuchungen zu genetisch bedingten Unterschieden in der Parasitenresistenz von Legehennen – Testung unter den Bedingungen einer Stations- und Feldprüfung

Die in der ökologischen Geflügelhaltung genutzten genetischen Herkünfte eignen sich aus verschiedenen Gründen in unterschiedlichen Maß für diese Verfahren. Die Bewertung der Eignung reduziert sich bisher im Wesentlichen auf Aspekte der Leistung (u.a. Eizahl, Eigewicht, Futterverwertung) sowie in gewissem Maße des Verhaltens (u.a. Kannibalismus). Aspekte der Tiergesundheit werden häufig auf Mortatiltätsraten reduziert, so dass u.a. subklinisch verlaufende Erkrankungen unberücksichtigt bleiben. In ökologischen Haltungsverfahren für Legehennen zählen die Parasitosen, insbesondere die Helminthosen, vor allem verursacht durch Ascaridia galli, Capillaria-Arten und Heterakis gallinarum, zu den bedeutendsten Erkrankungen (KAUFMANN und GAULY, 2009). Der notwendige Medikamenteneinsatz verursacht Kosten, führt zu Wirkstoffresistenzen, bedingt Rückstandsprobleme und belastet die Umwelt, was den elementaren Zielsetzungen ökologischer Tierhaltung widerspricht. In der Nutzung genetisch bedingter Unterschiede in der Parasitenresistenz kann ein erfolgsversprechender Ansatz zur Reduktion der Problematik gesehen werden. Es wurden bereits züchterisch nutzbare Resistenzen gegenüber Endoparasiteninfektionen bei verschiedenen Tierarten und Rassen beschrieben (ISRAEL, 1975; GAULY et al., 2002). Die Arbeiten beziehen sich allerdings bisher ausschließlich auf künstliche Infektionen mit nur einem Innenparasit (Monoinfektion) und wurden darüber hinaus nur an wenige Genotypen durchgeführt. Entsprechend ist die Einbeziehung weiterer im ökologischen Landbau eingesetzter Herkünfte notwendig. In einem zusätzlichen Schritt muss auch die Schätzung der Resistenz unter Feldbedingungen, d.h. unter der Situation von Mischinfektionen erfolgen. Möglicherweise lassen sich daraus unterschiedliche Empfehlungen ableiten. Das Gesamtziel des Projekts ist es, genetisch bedingte Unterschiede in der Resistenz gegenüber Wurminfektionen an Legehennen verschiedener genetischer Herkünfte auf der Basis einer experimentellen (Stationsprüfung) und anschliessend einer natürlichen Infektion (Feldprüfung) darzustellen und damit deren Eignung für die Bedingungen der Boden- bzw. Freilandhaltung zu bewerten. Die daraus resultierenden Ergebnisse sollen praktischen Landwirten des ökologischen Landbaus als Entscheidungshilfe bei der Genotypenwahl dienen und Zuchtunternehmen mögliche Perspektiven der Gestaltung von Zuchtprogrammen aufzeigen

CIN2+ detection of the HPV DNA Array genotyping assay in comparison with the Cobas 4800 HPV test and cytology

BACKGROUND: HPV DNA Array is an E1-targeting PCR genotyping test, with capability of distinguishing 18 high-risk (16, 18, 26, 31, 33, 35, 39, 45, 51, 52, 53, 56, 58, 59, 66, 68, 73, 82) and 11 low-risk HPV types (6, 11, 40, 42, 44, 54, 67, 69, 70, 85, 97). HPV DNA Array uses multiplex PCR for E1-gene sequence amplification. The amplicons are detected and genotyped by reverse hybridization to immobilized DNA probes spotted as triplets in single 96 well-plate wells and read by AID ELISPOT reader. METHODS: Aim of the study was to evaluate the clinical performance of the assay against internationally accepted and FDA approved Cobas 4800 HPV test (Roche Diagnostics). Study population comprised of 500 cervical samples. RESULTS: HPV DNA Array demonstrated a very high sensitivity of 100% for CIN2+ and 100% for CIN3+ detection, same as Cobas 4800. HPV DNA Array showed greater sensitivity for CIN2+ detection than cytology (100% vs. 13.6%). The agreement to Cobas 4800 for HPV detection, irrespective of type, was 81.4% with κ = 0.613. The agreement for HPV 16 was 92.8% (κ = 0.929), and for HPV 18 54.2% (κ = 0.681). CONCLUSION: HPV DNA Array demonstrated good clinical performance for detection of high-grade lesions, and may be considered for usage in a screening setting

Philosophie ‒ Ethnologie ‒ Translation. Über den Umgang mit kultureller Differenz

There has been a long-standing connection between social anthropology and philosophy, not only because Claude Lévi-Strauss named Rousseau as the “father” of his discipline. This connection had essentially critical components insofar as the epistemological and moral premises of social anthropology were called into doubt by philosophers raising questions concerning the understanding of other cultures and their denunciation as “primitive”. On the other hand, this ongoing debate also revealed the Eurocentrism of large parts of “Western” philosophical tradition. Wittgenstein and thinkers inspired by him played an important role in revealing hidden premises and presuppositions in dealing with non-European traditions in authors such as James Frazer, but also in anthropological “classics” such as Evans-Pritchard. “Corrections” made in the anthropological discussion, which led to conceptions such as “multiple ontologies”, could have benefited from partly parallel philosophical reflections – and vice versa. Through the concept of translation, understood as the migration of objectified ideas, common elements and differences between cultures can be grasped on the basis of their integration into the various webs of belief and, among other things, the possibilities and limits of science can be evaluated in comparison to other methods of dealing with the world

Visible light is a better co-inducer of apoptosis for curcumin-treated human melanoma cells than UVA

Curcumin attracts worldwide scientific interest due to its anti-proliferative and apoptosis inducing effects on different tumor cells at concentrations ranging from 10 to 150 µM (3.7–55 µg/ml). Unfortunately, because of a low oral bioavailability, only low and pharmacologically ineffective serum levels are achievable. In this study, an alternative treatment concept consisting of low concentration curcumin (0.2–5 µg/ml) and irradiation with UVA or visible light (VL) has been tested. The experimental results show clearly that this treatment decreases the proliferation and the viability of human melanoma cells while the cell membrane integrity remains intact. We identified the onset of apoptosis characterized by typical markers such as active caspases 8, 9 and 3 as well as DNA fragmentation accompanied by the loss of cell adhesion. The mitochondrial apoptosis signaling pathway is predominant due to an early activation of caspase-9. The present data indicate a higher efficacy of a combination of curcumin and VL than curcumin and UVA. Reduced effects as a result of light absorption by heavily pigmented skin are unlikely if VL is used. These results indicate that a combination of curcumin and light irradiation may be a useful additional therapy in the treatment of malignant disease

GraphArchive - An Online Graph Data Store

In this report, we present our approach 'GraphArchive'. The solution attempts to enable researchers to exchange and archive graphs. The software is developed as an online platform using modern web technologies. In the document, features and architecture of GraphArchive are presented and the former approach 'GraphDB' is compared to the new system. Also, reader are taken on a typical walk through the system using a common use case for GraphArchive. News and development status of the system can be also visited at http://www.graph-archive.org

Effects of parabolic flight and spaceflight on the endocannabinoid system in humans

The endocannabinoid system (ECS) plays an important role in the regulation of physiological functions, from stress and memory regulation to vegetative control and immunity. The ECS is considered a central and peripheral stress response system to emotional or physical challenges and acts through endocannabinoids (ECs), which bind to their receptors inducing subsequent effecting mechanisms. In our studies, the ECS responses have been assessed through blood concentrations of the ECs anandamide and 2-arachidonoylglycerol. In parallel, saliva cortisol was determined and the degree of perceived stress was quantified by questionnaires. This report summarizes the reactivity of the ECS in humans subjected to brief periods of kinetic stress and weightlessness during parabolic flights and to prolonged stress exposure during life onboard the International Space Station (ISS). Both conditions resulted in a significant increase in circulating ECs. Under the acute stress during parabolic flights, individuals who showed no evidence of motion sickness were in low-stress conditions and had a significant increase of plasma ECs. In contrast, highly stressed individuals with severe motion sickness had an absent EC response and a massive increase in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity. Likewise, chronic but well-tolerated exposure to weightlessness and emotional and environmental stressors on the ISS for 6 months resulted in a sustained increase in EC blood concentrations, which returned to baseline values after the cosmonauts' return. These preliminary results suggest that complex environmental stressors result in an increase of circulating ECs and that enhanced EC signaling is probably required for adaptation and tolerance under stressful conditions

Association study in naturally infected helminth layers shows evidence for influence of interferon-gamma gene variants on Ascaridia galli worm burden

Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the genes for interleukin-4, -13 and interferon-gamma, and 21 additional SNPs which previously had been significantly associated with immune traits in the chicken, were genotyped in white and brown layer hens and analyzed for their association with helminth burden following natural infections. A nucleotide substitution located upstream of the promoter of the interferon-gamma gene was significantly associated with the log transformed number of Ascaridia galli in the brown layer line (genotype CC: 6.4 ± 1.0 worms; genotype CT: 11.7 ± 2.2 worms). Therefore, IFNG seems to be a promising candidate gene for further studies on helminth resistance in the chicken

Motion sickness, stress and the endocannabinoid system

A substantial number of individuals are at risk for the development of motion sickness induced nausea and vomiting (N&V) during road, air or sea travel. Motion sickness can be extremely stressful but the neurobiologic mechanisms leading to motion sickness are not clear. The endocannabinoid system (ECS) represents an important neuromodulator of stress and N&V. Inhibitory effects of the ECS on N&V are mediated by endocannabinoid-receptor activation