Conflicto, identidad y desarrollo en la democratización de las ex repúblicas yugoslavas

Contrary to the generality of thoughts about political transition in former Yugoslav republics, the observation of ethnic diversity is not able to explain the diversity of results observed in the region by itself. This paper seeks to explain the most important differences in democratization in the 90´s decade, using techniques of comparative analysis. To achieve this aim, I am going to analyze elements of identity and development in the different territories, highlighting the essential role of stateness conflict. Deepening in that sense, the practical relevance of these conflicts is reinforced by his contingent nature, which will be developed and justified through empirical results attached to historical arguments.En contra de la generalidad de juicios en torno a la transición política en las ex repúblicas yugoslavas, la observación de la diversidad identitaria no es capaz de explicar de forma única los distintos caminos por los que discurrieron los acontecimientos en la región. Este trabajo utiliza técnicas de análisis comparativo (csQCA) para dar cuenta de las diferencias más relevantes en la democratización de las ex repúblicas yugoslavas en la década de los 90. Con este objetivo se van a analizar elementos de identidad y desarrollo en los diferentes territorios, destacándose el papel esencial de los conflictos de estatalidad (stateness conflict). Ahondando en este sentido, la relevancia práctica de estos conflictos se ve reforzada por su carácter contingente, característica que será desarrollada y justificada a través de datos empíricos unidos a argumentos históricos

Mitochondrial physiology

As the knowledge base and importance of mitochondrial physiology to evolution, health and disease expands, the necessity for harmonizing the terminology concerning mitochondrial respiratory states and rates has become increasingly apparent. The chemiosmotic theory establishes the mechanism of energy transformation and coupling in oxidative phosphorylation. The unifying concept of the protonmotive force provides the framework for developing a consistent theoretical foundation of mitochondrial physiology and bioenergetics. We follow the latest SI guidelines and those of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) on terminology in physical chemistry, extended by considerations of open systems and thermodynamics of irreversible processes. The concept-driven constructive terminology incorporates the meaning of each quantity and aligns concepts and symbols with the nomenclature of classical bioenergetics. We endeavour to provide a balanced view of mitochondrial respiratory control and a critical discussion on reporting data of mitochondrial respiration in terms of metabolic flows and fluxes. Uniform standards for evaluation of respiratory states and rates will ultimately contribute to reproducibility between laboratories and thus support the development of data repositories of mitochondrial respiratory function in species, tissues, and cells. Clarity of concept and consistency of nomenclature facilitate effective transdisciplinary communication, education, and ultimately further discovery

Mitochondrial physiology

As the knowledge base and importance of mitochondrial physiology to evolution, health and disease expands, the necessity for harmonizing the terminology concerning mitochondrial respiratory states and rates has become increasingly apparent. The chemiosmotic theory establishes the mechanism of energy transformation and coupling in oxidative phosphorylation. The unifying concept of the protonmotive force provides the framework for developing a consistent theoretical foundation of mitochondrial physiology and bioenergetics. We follow the latest SI guidelines and those of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) on terminology in physical chemistry, extended by considerations of open systems and thermodynamics of irreversible processes. The concept-driven constructive terminology incorporates the meaning of each quantity and aligns concepts and symbols with the nomenclature of classical bioenergetics. We endeavour to provide a balanced view of mitochondrial respiratory control and a critical discussion on reporting data of mitochondrial respiration in terms of metabolic flows and fluxes. Uniform standards for evaluation of respiratory states and rates will ultimately contribute to reproducibility between laboratories and thus support the development of data repositories of mitochondrial respiratory function in species, tissues, and cells. Clarity of concept and consistency of nomenclature facilitate effective transdisciplinary communication, education, and ultimately further discovery

Poland? But which? Jewish Political Attitudes toward the Polish State in Formation during World War I

What kind of country are we talking about when we speak of Poland from the perspective of the organized Jewish political leadership in Poland? What should the scope and characteristics of the new Polish state in their view be? What kind of relations should Poland have with neighbouring states, as well as within, among its various populations and societies? The paper explores the changing answers given by different political Jewish leadership in a period of liminality – the interval between two stages and two distinct situations: the imperial order (Austrian and Russian) and the Polish national state. It examines Galicia and the Congress Poland from 1914 to 1918 when the territory was disputed among different empires and nations and its fate was far from clear. The article claims that the different visions of Poland presented by the Jewish leadership were grounded in two assumptions. The first was that the Jews as an integral part of society were legitimately entitled to express their own vision of the future state, the second – that the Jews, as an integral part of society, were entitled to equality on all levels of social life. That is the reason, the article claims, behind the demands for a fair distribution of the state’s resources regardless the mother tongue, religion, or ethno-national identification. The efforts the leaders of the Polish Jewry made to include the Jews as a minority group equal to others in the Polish state took place in the framework of the ethno-national ethos as the constitutive principle of state-building. The changing political circumstances and the growing hegemonic discourse based on the nation and nationality brought, claims the article, to the raising of a new Jewish national leadership during World War I. This leadership became convinced that, in the light of the discriminatory policies and growing anti-Jewish violence, only a mechanism of minority rights could guarantee Jewish existence in Poland

From Paris to Izmir, Rome, and Jerusalem: Armand Lévy as the Missing Link between Polish Romantic Nationalism and Zionism

This article focuses on Armand Lévy, Adam Mickiewicz’s secretary, as the missing link between Romantic Polish nationalism and proto-Zionism. It examines Lévy’s interpretation of Adam Mickiewicz’s use of Jewish motifs and how Lévy’s interpretation provided his friend and neighbour in Paris, Moses Hess, a German-Jewish socialist, colleague and rival of Karl Marx, with a repertoire he had lacked to structure his proto-Zionist ideas. The article discusses how ideas from one cultural sphere were transferred to others. Mickiewicz, seeking to find ways to strengthen the Polish nation-building process following the partition of his motherland, used his interpretation of the contemporary Jewish Diaspora as a model. His secretary, the Frenchman Armand Lévy, reinterpreted Mickiewicz’s interpretation. His convoluted life course eventually led him to think about the Jews in nationalist terms via the discursive tools he acquired from Mickiewicz. Going beyond the latter’s views, Lévy regarded the Jews as a diasporic nation aspiring to gain political statehood. He championed Jewish messianism as a concrete step towards the Jews’ sovereignty. This, in turn, provided Moses Hess with a repertoire he had lacked until this point: namely, an acquaintance with Jews who were committed to renewing the sovereign Jewish life as of old. The article shows how Armand Lévy – a person acting in a sociological ‘contact zone’, i.e. in a social space where cultures meet, clash, and grapple – was able to cross the boundaries of Frenchness, Polishness, Jewishness, cosmopolitanism and nationalism, transferring motifs between Jewish and non-Jewish émigrés in complex ways which provoked unexpected results

Fratura na coluna vertebral por mieloma múltiplo: correlação entre sobrevida e índices de Tomita e Tokuhashi

OBJETIVO: o mieloma múltiplo (MM) é a neoplasia óssea primária mais freqüente na coluna vertebral. Em razão da grande morbi-mortalidade destas lesões, discute-se qual o melhor tratamento nestes pacientes. Na prática, observamos similaridade das opções de tratamento entre os pacientes portadores de metástases ósseas e MM. Os índices de sobrevida de Tomita e Tokuhashi são utilizados com o intuito de auxiliar na escolha do tratamento nos portadores de metástases. Faltam estudos sobre a aplicabilidade destes índices em pacientes portadores de MM. Neste trabalho vamos avaliar a aplicabilidade dos índices de Tomita e Tokuhashi nos pacientes portadores de MM e lesão vertebral. MÉTODOS: estudo retrospectivo mediante avaliação de prontuários e radiografias de portadores de MM por meio da aplicação dos critérios de Tomita e Tokuhashi. RESULTADOS: em um ano, 19 (63,3%) estavam vivos, em dois anos 13 (43,3%) e em cinco anos quatro (13,3%) pacientes estavam vivos. Não houve correlação entre os índices (Tomita e Tokuhashi) e a taxa de sobrevida nestes pacientes (p= 0,2255). CONCLUSÃO: há necessidade de adaptação dos índices de Tomita e Tokuhashi para apresentarem aplicabilidade nos portadores de MM na coluna

Biochemical characterization of serine transport in Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis

In addition to its role as a protein component in Leishmania, serine is also a precursor for the synthesis of both phosphatidylserine, which is a membrane molecule involved in parasite invasion and inactivation of macrophages, and sphingolipids, which are necessary for Leishmania to differentiate into its infective forms. We have characterized serine uptake in both promastigote and amastigote forms of Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis. In promastigotes, kinetic data show a single, saturable transport system, with a Km of 0.253 +/- 0.01 mM and a maximum velocity of 0.246 +/- 0.04 nmol/min per 107 cells. Serine transport increased linearly with temperature in the range from 20 degrees C to 45 degrees C, allowing the calculation of an activation energy of 7.09 kJ/mol. Alanine, cysteine, glycine, threonine, valine and ethanolamine competed with the substrate at a ten-fold excess concentration. Serine uptake was dependent on pH, with an optimum activity at pH 7.5. The characterization of the serine transport process in amastigotes revealed a transport system with a similar Km, energy of activation and pH response to that found in promastigotes, suggesting that the same transport system is active in both insect vector and mammalian host Leishmania stages. This could constitute an evolutionary mechanism that guarantees the provision of such an essential molecule during host change events, such as differentiation into amastigotes and macrophage invasion, as well as to ensure that the parasite maintains the infection in the mammalian host. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico (CNPq