Möglichkeit und Unmöglichkeit internationaler Politik. Rousseaus Auffassung des Krieges

A recently reconstructed text written by Rousseau is obviously the first part of a broader work he had intended to write on the Principles of War. Although the opus remained incomplete, Rousseau integrated most of the insights he had gained from this early analysis on war into his later political thought. The two main premisses of Rousseau′s analysis are that war does not exist between human beings in the state of nature, but only between artificial bodies, i. e. societies consolidated into states, and that therefore war must be regarded as being solely the consequence of the social state. On the international level, the competition between the already constituted wills of the states, who strive to weaken and eventually annihilate each of the other state′s general will, leads to the sheer impossibility of construing a permanent international order based either on force or on law. However, as war has this aporetic nature, for it threatens and at the same time consolidates the constituted civil order, Rousseau will henceforth concentrate on how to strenghten the general will against private interests while, by the same token, enabling it to curb the ambitions of the sovereig

Avoidance of Canopy Gaps by a Common Land Snail

Because canopy gaps are characterized by elevated temperature and decreased humidity relative to closed-canopy forest, terrestrial gastropods may be exposed to greater desiccation stress in gaps than in undisturbed forest. We placed individuals of Caracolus caracolla at the edges of canopy gaps in montane forest in Puerto Rico and observed their movements. Individuals preferentially moved out of gaps except in one gap on the first night of the study, and the proportion of individuals recaptured inside gaps decreased over time. Individuals moved, on average, farther into forest than into gaps. Juveniles and adults responded similarly. These results suggest that C. caracolla actively avoids canopy gaps, and that its activity and ability to disperse are restricted in a post-disturbance environment

The role of epidermal growth factor-like module containing mucin-like hormone receptor 2 in human cancers.

G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) are among the most diverse and ubiquitous proteins in all of biology. The epidermal growth factor-seven span transmembrane (EGF-TM7) subfamily of adhesion GPCRs is a small subset whose members are mainly expressed on the surface of leukocytes. The EGF domains on the N-terminus add significant size to these receptors and they are considered to be among the largest members of the TM7 family. Although not all of their ligands or downstream targets have been identified, there is evidence implicating the EGF-TM7 family diverse processes such as cell adhesion, migration, inflammation, and autoimmune disease. Recent studies have identified expression of EGF-TM7 family members on human neoplasms including those of the thyroid, stomach, colon, and brain. Their presence on these tissues is not surprising given the ubiquity of GPCRs, but because their functional significance and pathways are not completely understood, they are of tremendous clinical and scientific interest. Current evidence suggests that expression of certain EGF-TM7 receptors is correlated with tumor grade, confers a more invasive phenotype, and increases the likelihood of metastatic disease. In this review, we will discuss the structure, function, and regulation of these receptors. We also describe the expression of these receptors in human cancers and explore their potential mechanistic significance

RE-INVENTING VALUE PROPOSITIONS

While many managers face the challenge of lower profits in increasingly competitive and commoditized industries, a few firms break out as market value leaders generating superior growth and shareholder returns. How do these firms break out of the commoditization trap? In this paper we propose these firms invent unique value propositions and offer them in superior ways to their customers. Based on our study of a number of market leaders, we provide a framework for systematically understanding and re-inventing the firm's value propositions. We propose that clearly understanding and defining the dimensions of a firm's value proposition is a critical first step in building an effective strategy.Information Systems Working Papers Serie

Potential role of the endocannabinoid receptor antagonist rimonabant in the management of cardiometabolic risk: a narrative review of available data

The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is an endogenous physiological system composed of two cannabinoid receptors and several endogenous ligands. The ECS is intimately involved in appetite regulation and energy homeostasis, which makes it an intriguing target for pharmacological treatment of obesity, diabetes, and the metabolic syndrome. Rimonabant is the first cannabinoid receptor (CB-1) antagonist being studied and utilized to treat obesity (it is approved in Europe but is currently under review in the United States). Large randomized trials with rimonabant have demonstrated efficacy in treatment of overweight and obese individuals with weight loss significantly greater than a reduced calorie diet alone. In addition, multiple other cardiometabolic parameters were improved in the treatment groups including increased levels of high density lipoprotein cholesterol, reduced triglycerides, reduced waist circumference, improved insulin sensitivity, decreased insulin levels, and in diabetic patients improvement in glycosylated hemoglobin percentage. There was an increase in the adverse effects of depression, anxiety, irritability, and nausea in rimonabant-treated groups. This novel medication may become an important therapeutic option in the fight to reduce cardiovascular disease worldwide through its unique action on cardiometabolic risk

Exploring the Single-Particle Mobility Edge in a One-Dimensional Quasiperiodic Optical Lattice

A single-particle mobility edge (SPME) marks a critical energy separating extended from localized states in a quantum system. In one-dimensional systems with uncorrelated disorder, a SPME cannot exist, since all single-particle states localize for arbitrarily weak disorder strengths. However, if correlations are present in the disorder potential, the localization transition can occur at a finite disorder strength and SPMEs become possible. In this work, we find experimental evidence for the existence of such a SPME in a one-dimensional quasi-periodic optical lattice. Specifically, we find a regime where extended and localized single-particle states coexist, in good agreement with theoretical simulations, which predict a SPME in this regime

Immunocompetent murine models for the study of glioblastoma immunotherapy.

Glioblastoma remains a lethal diagnosis with a 5-year survival rate of less than 10%. (NEJM 352:987-96, 2005) Although immunotherapy-based approaches are capable of inducing detectable immune responses against tumor-specific antigens, improvements in clinical outcomes are modest, in no small part due to tumor-induced immunosuppressive mechanisms that promote immune escape and immuno-resistance. Immunotherapeutic strategies aimed at bolstering the immune response while neutralizing immunosuppression will play a critical role in improving treatment outcomes for glioblastoma patients. In vivo murine models of glioma provide an invaluable resource to achieving that end, and their use is an essential part of the preclinical workup for novel therapeutics that need to be tested in animal models prior to testing experimental therapies in patients. In this article, we review five contemporary immunocompetent mouse models, GL261 (C57BL/6), GL26 (C57BL/6) CT-2A (C57BL/6), SMA-560 (VM/Dk), and 4C8 (B6D2F1), each of which offer a suitable platform for testing novel immunotherapeutic approaches