Challenging assumptions of the enlargement literature : the impact of the EU on human and minority rights in Macedonia

This article argues that from the very start of the transition process in Macedonia, a fusion of concerns about security and democratisation locked local nationalist elites and international organisations intoa political dynamic that prioritised security over democratisation. This dynamic resulted in little progress in the implementation of human and minority rights until 2009, despite heavy EU involvement in Macedonia after the internal warfare of 2001. The effects of this informally institutionalised relationship have been overlooked by scholarship on EU enlargement towards Eastern Europe, which has made generalisations based on assumptions relevant to the democratisation of countries in Eastern Europe, but not the Western Balkans

Нейропротективные свойства ингибитора C-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) при гипоксической гипоксии

The aim of the study was to reveal the influence of the JNK inhibitor on the induction of disturbances in the psychoneurological status of experimental animals in the modeling of posthypoxic encephalopathy and to reveal the mechanisms of its action related to the functioning of the neural stem cells of the brain. Materials and methods. The experiments were performed on 64 male outbred mice. Posthypoxic encephalopathy was modeled in non-native mice with hypoxia of the hermetic volume. The JNK inhibitor was administered to mice subcutaneously at a dose of 15 mg/kg once before hypoxic exposure. We studied the neuropsychiatric status, the content of neuronal stem cells in the subventricular zone of the brain of experimental animals, and the direct effect of the JNK inhibitor on intact neural stem cells in vitro. Results. The expressed cerebroprotective action of the pharmacological agent was revealed, which consisted of normalizing the indices of orientation and exploratory behavior and conditioned activity in experimental animals. These effects developed against a background of a significant increase in the content of neural stem cells in the subventricular zone of the brain. In the experiments in vitro, a direct stimulating effect of the JNK inhibitor on neural stem cells was found. Conclusions. The obtained results showed a neuroprotective action of the JNK inhibitor. At the same time, the prevention and compensation of the development of disturbances in the activity of the central nervous system is based on the preservation of the ability of the nerve tissue to repair andassociated with the functioning of resident neural stem cells.Цель исследования – выявить влияние ингибитора JNK на формирование нарушений психоневрологического статуса экспериментальных животных при моделировании постгипоксической энцефалопатии и вскрыть механизмы его действия, связанные с функционированием нейральных стволовых клеток (СК) головного мозга.Материалы и методы. Эксперименты проведены на 96 аутбредных самцахмышей. Постгипоксическая энцефалопатия моделировалась у беспородных мышей с помощью гипоксии гермообъема. Ингибитор JNK вводили мышам однократно перед гипоксическим воздействием подкожно в дозе 15 мг/кг.Изучали психоневрологический статус, содержание нейральных СК в субвентрикулярной зоне головного мозга экспериментальных животных и прямое влияние ингибитора JNK на интактные нейральные СК в условиях in vitro. Результаты. Выявили выраженное церебропротекторное действие фармакологического агента, заключающееся в нормализации показателей ориентировочно-исследовательского поведения и условно-рефлекторной деятельности у экспериментальных животных. Указанные эффекты развивались на фоне значительного увеличения содержания нейральных СК в субвентрикулярной зоне головного мозга. При этом в экспериментах in vitro обнаружено прямое стимулирующее влияние ингибитора JNK на нейральные СК. Заключение. Полученные результаты свидетельствуют о выраженном нейропротекторном действии ингибитора JNK. При этом в основе предупреждения развития нарушений деятельности ЦНС и их компенсации, очевидно, лежит сохранность способности нервной ткани к репарации, связанной с функционированием резидентных нейральных СК

A GIS based approach to long bone breakage patterns derived from marrow extraction

International audienc

A way to break bones? The weight of intuitiveness

During the Middle Paleolithic period, bone marrow extraction was an essential source of fat nutrients for hunter-gatherers especially throughout cold and dry seasons. This is attested by the recurrent findings of percussion marks in osteological material from anthropized archaeological levels. Among them some showed indicators that the marrow extraction process was part of a butchery cultural practice, meaning that the inflicted fracturing gestures and techniques were recurrent, standardized and counter-intuitive i.e. culturally influenced. In order to assess the weight of the counter-intuitive factor in the percussion mark pattern distribution, we carried out an experiment that by contrast focuses on the intuitive approach of fracturing bones to extract marrow, involving individual without experience in this activity. We wanted to evaluate the influence of bone morphology and the individuals’ behaviour on the distribution of percussion marks. Twelve experimenters broke 120 limb bones, a series of 10 bones per individual. During the experiment, information concerning the fracture of the bones as well as individual behaviour was collected and was subsequently compared to data from the laboratory study of the remains. Then, we applied an innovative GIS (Geographic Information System) method to analyze the distribution of percussion marks to highlight recurrent patterns. Results show that in spite of all the variables there is a high similarity in the distribution of percussion marks which we consider as intuitive patterns. The factor influenced the distribution for the humerus, radius-ulna and tibia series is the bone morphology, while for the femur series individual behaviour seems to have more weight in the distribution. To go further in the subject we need to compare the intuitive models with the distributions of percussion marks registered in fossil assemblages. Thus, it would be possible to propose new hypotheses on butchering practices based on the results presented in this work

New evidence of Neandertal butchery traditions through the marrow extraction in southwestern Europe (MIS 5–3)

Long bone breakage for bone marrow recovery is a commonly observed practice in Middle Palaeolithic contexts, regardless of the climatic conditions. While lithic technology is largely used to define cultural patterns in human groups, despite dedicating research by zooarchaeologists, for now butchering techniques rarely allowed the identification of clear traditions, notably for ancient Palaeolithic periods. In this paper, we test the hypothesis of butchery traditions among Neandertal groupsusing the bone assemblages from three sites in southwestern Europe. These sites are located in southeastern France and northern Italy and are dated to the Late Middle Palaeolithic: Abri du Maras (Marine Isotopic Stages (MIS) 4–3, Ardèche), Saint-Marcel (MIS 3, Ardèche), and Riparo Tagliente (MIS 4–3, Verona). The detection of culturally-induced patterns of bone breakage involves differentiating them from intuitively generated patterns. To tackle this issue, we used a zooarchaeological approach focusing on the percussion marks produced during the bone breakage process. Statistical analyses as the chi-square test of independence were employed to verify if percussion mark locations were randomly distributed, and if these distributions were different from the intuitive ones. For femurs and humeri, our results demonstrate that Neandertal groups occupying the Abri du Maras (levels 4.1 and 4.2) and the Saint-Marcel Cave (levels g and h) sites in France applied butchery traditions to recover yellow marrow. However, the traditions developed at each site were different. On the contrary, in Riparo Tagliente, in Italy, several groups or individuals of a same group did not share the same butchery traditions over time. Regarding the Abri du Maras and Saint Marcel Cave assemblages, our research demonstrates that Neandertal groups applied intense standardized bone breakage, far from the intuitive practice observed experimentally and related to bone density and/or skeletal morphology. These standardized patterns, which are systematic and counter-intuitive, can be interpreted as culturally induced for the Abri du Maras and Saint Marcel Cave. The diversity of Neanderta

Neuroprotective properties of the C-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) inhibitor in hypoxic hypoxia

The aim of the study was to reveal the influence of the JNK inhibitor on the induction of disturbances in the psychoneurological status of experimental animals in the modeling of posthypoxic encephalopathy and to reveal the mechanisms of its action related to the functioning of the neural stem cells of the brain. Materials and methods. The experiments were performed on 64 male outbred mice. Posthypoxic encephalopathy was modeled in non-native mice with hypoxia of the hermetic volume. The JNK inhibitor was administered to mice subcutaneously at a dose of 15 mg/kg once before hypoxic exposure. We studied the neuropsychiatric status, the content of neuronal stem cells in the subventricular zone of the brain of experimental animals, and the direct effect of the JNK inhibitor on intact neural stem cells in vitro. Results. The expressed cerebroprotective action of the pharmacological agent was revealed, which consisted of normalizing the indices of orientation and exploratory behavior and conditioned activity in experimental animals. These effects developed against a background of a significant increase in the content of neural stem cells in the subventricular zone of the brain. In the experiments in vitro, a direct stimulating effect of the JNK inhibitor on neural stem cells was found. Conclusions. The obtained results showed a neuroprotective action of the JNK inhibitor. At the same time, the prevention and compensation of the development of disturbances in the activity of the central nervous system is based on the preservation of the ability of the nerve tissue to repair andassociated with the functioning of resident neural stem cells

Role of cAMP- and IKK-2-dependent signaling pathways in functional stimulation of mesenchymal progenitor cells with alkaloid songorine

The role of cAMP- and IKK-2-dependent pathways in stimulation of the growth capacity of mesenchymal progenitor cells with alkaloid songorine was studied in vitro. Inhibitors of adenylate cyclase and IKK-2 were shown to abolish the increase in proliferative activity of progenitor cells. Moreover, blockade of the inhibitory kinase complex was accompanied by a decrease in the intensity of progenitor cell differentiation