Third Parties, War Systems' Inertia, and Conflict Termination: The Doomed Peace Process in Colombia, 1998-2002

This article discusses the role of third-party interventions in the failed peace process of Colombia that took place between 1998 and 2002. It analyses how both neutral and biased interventions impacted upon conflict dynamics. The article demonstrates that the neutral intervention was limited to the initiation of the peace talks and intermittent particularly in its final phase, while the biased intervention, led by the US, changed the incentive structure of the actors involved, creating hopes among the hard liners that the US could help them in winning the war. In hindsight, this biased intervention failed to tip the balance of power, but contributed to the derailment of the peace process. This article argues that third party intervention, particularly the biased intervention, failed to dismantle the war system. Instead, it has brought the Colombian war system into a phase of fluctuating stalemate, characterized by renewed volatility and violence

Emerging opportunities: the internet, marketing and museums

The tremendous impact of applying new technologies is obvious when it comes to museums. Internet forms an integral part of museums everyday life and decision making. Websites, online communities, social media, and mobile applications comprise elements of the modern museum’s digital self, which complements the real museum of permanent and temporary exhibitions, storage rooms, visitors’ facilities, laboratories and, most important, museum objects. This environment inevitably affects museum marketing strategies and creates relevant opportunities

HUBUNGAN SARANA SANITASI RUMAH DAN PERILAKU HIDUP BERSIH DAN SEHAT DENGAN KEJADIAN DIARE PADA BALITA DI WILAYAH KERJA PUSKESMAS I KEMBARAN KABUPATEN BANYUMAS TAHUN 2018

Abstract [The Relationship Between Home Sanitation Facilities And Clean Living Behavior With Diarrhea Case Toward Toddler In The Working Area Of Health Center I Kembaran Banyumas Regency In Year 2018] The number of diarrhea sufferers in the working area of Puskesmas I Kembaran is included in the top 10 most people with disease. Thus, there are 813 diarrhea cases found in 2016. This study aims to determine the relationship between environmental sanitation facilities and clean healthy living behavior (PHBS) with diarrhea cases in the working areaof Puskesmas I KembaranBanyumas regency 2018. Type of research used in this research is analytical with case control approach. There are 66 samples where 22 samples are as case and 44 samples are as control. The variables studied are clean water, disposal facility / latrine, wastewater storage facilities, food and beverage storage, clean water use, disposing of baby's feces and hand washing with soap. Further, the research is analyzed with chi square test, logistic regression, and OR with 95% CI and α 0,05. The result of bivariate analysis was obtained by means of environmental sanitation and hygiene and hygienic living behavior which have relation of clean water facilities (p = 0,000, OR = 19,741), disposal facility (P = 0,000; OR = 11,327), food and beverage storage p = 0,000; OR = 14,095), the use of clean water (p = 0,002; OR = 7,800), removing infant stool p = 0,001; OR = 7,286), handwashing with soap (p = 0,006; OR = 6,923). While the waste water disposal facilities have no significant relationship and are not at risk. However, the multivariate analysis shows that the most influential variable is clean water (p = 0,003; RP = 10,663). This research can be concluded that environmental sanitation and clean healthy life behavior can be a risk factor for diarrheal disease. The variable which has the most significant influence is the disposal of feces / latrines. It is recommended that the public always maintain the cleanliness of the environment and apply clean and healthy living behavior

Comparative Readings of the Lebanese Media System

The focus of this dissertation is on the Lebanese media system and the extent this system can be subsumed under one of the three ideal types put forth by Daniel Hallin and Paolo Mancini in their seminal work Comparing Media Systems. This endeavour uses the Hallin and Mancini framework as a scholarly springboard in an effort to take their sets of variables and models beyond the established democracies of Europe and North America. This research responds to a recurring call for comparative work and particularly for the application of the Hallin and Mancini framework on other non-Western media systems. By critically applying their framework to the Lebanese media system, this thesis assesses the complex dimensions developed by the two scholars. These include: the development of media markets, political parallelism, the degree of development of journalistic professionalism and the degree and nature of state intervention. Hallin and Mancini acknowledge that restricting themselves to the western world was a limitation. They also suggest that their work should serve as an inspiration for a process of re-modelling by adapting and reconfiguring their framework and their three ideal types to a given context. This study does just that by amending the sub-indicators, identifying salient factors and suggesting a new model that better suits the Lebanese media system and potentially similar systems. Following an introduction outlining the research aims and surveying the available literature, Chapter 2 discusses the theoretical framework of the study ranging from the Hallin and Mancini framework and relevant communication as well as political and state theories. In order to present the social, political and historical context of this analysis the precarious political system of Lebanon and its recent history are also discussed in this chapter. This is followed by the methodological outline of the study discussing the collection of empirical data from the 63 research interviews conducted for this thesis. Furthermore, it surveys the available quantitative and qualitative data gleaned and analysed in this work. The assessment of the Lebanese media system follows in Chapter 4, where Hallin and Mancini’s theoretical framework is critically applied. Chapter 5 discusses the amended and adapted sub-dimensions and presents a series of salient factors that have emerged as vital. Finally, Chapter 5 culminates in the suggestion of the CriSPP Model (Crisis-prone, small, Polarised Pluralist Model) – a variation on the Polarised Pluralist or Mediterranean Model, one of Hallin and Mancini’s three ideal types. The CriSPP Model emphasises the salient factors of crisis as well as the small state, which significantly influence the Lebanese media system. The final Chapter 6 concludes with suggestions for further research including the proposal of similar media systems that may fit the CriSPP model

Comparing Media Systems in the ‘West’ and beyond

Hallin and Mancini's book Comparing Media Systems has been hailed as a seminal work sparking several attempts at applying both the models and theoretical framework to media systems around the world. The following essay discusses important considerations on taking this framework beyond the confines of the Western world

The agrarian question and violence in Colombia: conflict and development

This article examines connections between Colombia’s internal armed conflict and agrarian questions. It pays attention to the country’s specific historical trajectory of agrarian change, the violent expression of social tensions that this elicited, and the particular ways in which these dynamics were influenced by a changing global context.This analysis of the intimate ties between violent conflict and agrarian questions in Colombia, both in terms of their historical development and their contemporary manifestations, challenges popular notions of the relationship between armed conflict and development. In particular, the article contributes to a critique of the conventional version of the conflict–development nexus by illustrating ways in which the experience of capitalist development in Colombia has been violent and produced poverty

In defence of the Iraqi media: between fueling conflict and healthy pluralism

Despite the occupation and ensuing war, Iraq has experienced the mergence of a truly pluralistic media landscape after the fall of the Baath regime in 2003. Today, media coverage of domestic affairs is characterized not only by pluralism but also by bias and partiality reflecting strong ties between political actors and media outlets. Accordingly, the Iraqi media are often accused of fueling conflict and deepening the ethno-sectarian divide in society. Based on a qualitative frame analysis of Iraqi news bulletins, this study reveals that Iraqi media outlets provide indeed contesting frames on even the most divisive issues. Only the coverage of the armed war against IS is characterized by a non-pluralistic conformity among Iraqi channels that unequivocally focus on military successes against IS and jointly refrain from any criticism against the varied forces fighting IS in Ira

Oocyte maturation and quality: role of cyclic nucleotides

Advance Publication first posted online on 15 July 2016 - Accepted manuscriptThe cyclic nucleotides, cAMP and cGMP, are the key molecules controlling mammalian oocyte meiosis. Their roles in oocyte biology have been at the forefront of oocyte research for decades and many of the long standing controversies in relation to the regulation of oocyte meiotic maturation are now resolved. It is now clear that the follicle prevents meiotic resumption through the actions of natriuretic peptides and cGMP inhibiting the hydrolysis of intra-oocyte cAMP and that the preovulatory gonadotrophin surge reverses these processes. The gonadotrophin surge also leads to a transient spike in cAMP in the somatic compartment of the follicle; research over the past 2 decades has conclusively demonstrated that this surge in cAMP is important for the subsequent developmental capacity of the oocyte. This is important, as oocyte in vitro maturation (IVM) systems practiced clinically do not recapitulate this cAMP surge in vitro, possibly accounting for the lower efficiency of IVM compared to clinical IVF. This review focuses in particular on this latter aspect - the role of cAMP/cGMP in the regulation of oocyte quality. We conclude that clinical practice of IVM should reflect this new understanding of the role of cyclic nucleotides, thereby creating a new generation of ART and fertility treatment options.Gilchrist RB, Luciano AM, Richani D, Zeng HT, Wang X, De Vos M, Sugimura S, Smitz J, Richard FJ and Thompson J

Pre-maturation with cAMP modulators in conjunction with EGF-like peptides during in vitro maturation enhances mouse oocyte developmental competence

Recent studies have independently shown that cyclic adenosine 3'5'-monophosphate (cAMP) modulation prior to in vitro maturation (IVM) and epidermal growth factor (EGF)-like peptide supplementation during IVM improve subsequent oocyte developmental outcomes. This study investigated the effects of an IVM system that incorporates these two concepts. Cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) were collected from pre-pubertal mice either 46 hr post-equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG) (IVM) or post-eCG + post-human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) stimulation (in vivo maturation; IVV). IVM COCs were treated with the cAMP modulators forskolin and IBMX for 1, 2, or 4 hr (pre-IVM phase) prior to IVM. COCs then underwent IVM with the EGF-like peptides amphiregulin or epiregulin, or with the common IVM stimulants follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) or EGF. A pre-IVM phase increased the size of the subsequent blastocysts' inner-cell-mass compared to standard IVM, regardless of IVM treatment (P < 0.05). Unlike FSH or EGF, amphiregulin or epiregulin significantly increased blastocyst quality (trophectoderm and total cell numbers) and/or yield (P < 0.01) compared to standard IVM, and were the only treatments that produced blastocysts comparable to IVV-derived blastocysts. Forskolin acutely up-regulated EGF-like peptide mRNA expression after a 2-hr pre-IVM phase (P < 0.001), although EGF receptor and ERK1/2 activities were not significantly different than control. IVV-like levels of EGF-like peptide mRNA expression during IVM were maintained only by supplementing with EGF-like peptides and EGF, since expression levels induced by FSH were significantly lower in vitro than during IVV. However, EGF receptor and ERK1/2 phosphorylation levels were not significantly different across treatment groups. In conclusion, a pre-IVM phase in conjunction with IVM in the presence of EGF-like peptides endows high oocyte developmental competence, as evidenced by increased embryo yield and/or quality relative to FSH and EGF.D. Richani, X. Wang, H. Zeng, J.E.J. Smitz, J.G. Thompson, and R.B. Gilchris

Efecto del tratamiento con praziquantel sobre la actividad de la fosfatasa alcalina, fosfatasa acida, superoxido dismutasa en extractos crudos y productos de excreción-secreción de gusanos de Schistosoma mansoni:Praziquantel y enzimas de Schistosoma mansoni

Venezuela is among South American countries affected by schistosomiasis and chemotherapy with praziquantel (PZQ) is the main control strategy. We determined the quantitative effect of treatment with PZQ on alkaline phosphatase activity (ALP), acid phosphatase (ACP) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in soluble antigens of worms (SWAP) and excretion-secretion products (EEP) of male and female worms (SMWAPc, SFWAPc, ESPWMc and ESPWHc) or incubated with PZQ in vitro (SMWAPPZQ, SFWAPPZQ, ESPWMPZQ and ESPWHPZQ). Total proteins were determined by colorimetry, SOD and ACP by spectrophotometry and fluorometry ALP. There was higher protein concentration in the untreated worms EG, and the preparations obtained after incubation with PZQ in vitro, in the EG, an increase in ACP activity in the EG and PG prepared with non-treated worms and a decrease of such activity on the EG and treated PG. On the other hand, SOD activity, the EG showed statistical significance in the treated worms. In the PG showed the same behavior, but those differences were not statistically significant. Similarly, there was a decrease in the concentration of ALP noticeable in the EG and worm PGh treated worms relative to untreated statistically significant. In conclusion, we observed a decrease in total protein, ACP and SOD enzyme activities and concentration of ALP, and EG in PG treated worms