Registros Faunísticos de Proturos en Argentina (Insecta: Protura)

Berberentulus nelsoni Tuxen, 1976 and Gracilentulus sp. are recorded in soils from Argentina. For our knopwledge, the two acerentomids reported in this paper represent the first records of both species from Argentina. Specimens were collected in Córdoba province, during the months of November 2000 and April 2001.Berberentulus nelsoni Tuxen, 1976 y Gracilentulus sp. son registrados en suelos de Argentina. Estos dos acerentomidos reportados en este trabajo probablemente representan el primer registro de ambas especies para Argentina. Los especímenes fueron colectados en la provincia de Córdoba, durante los meses de noviembre de 2000 y abril de 2001.Fil: Szeptycki, Andrzej. Polish Academy of Sciences; PoloniaFil: Bedano, José Camilo. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba; Argentin

The European union’s 2010 target: Putting rare species in focus

P. 167-185The European Union has adopted the ambitious target of halting the loss of biodiversity by 2010. Several indicators have been proposed to assess progress towards the 2010 target, two of them addressing directly the issue of species decline. In Europe, the Fauna Europaea database gives an insight into the patterns of distribution of a total dataset of 130,000 terrestrial and freshwater species without taxonomic bias, and provide a unique opportunity to assess the feasibility of the 2010 target. It shows that the vast majority of European species are rare, in the sense that they have a restricted range. Considering this, the paper discusses whether the 2010 target indicators really cover the species most at risk of extinction. The analysis of a list of 62 globally extinct European taxa shows that most contemporary extinctions have affected narrow-range taxa or taxa with strict ecological requirements. Indeed, most European species listed as threatened in the IUCN Red List are narrow-range species. Conversely, there are as many wide-range species as narrow-range endemics in the list of protected species in Europe (Bird and Habitat Directives). The subset of biodiversity captured by the 2010 target indicators should be representative of the whole biodiversity in terms of patterns of distribution and abundance. Indicators should not overlook a core characteristic of biodiversity, i.e. the large number of narrow-range species and their intrinsic vulnerability. With ill-selected indicator species, the extinction of narrowrange endemics would go unnoticedS

Investigating orphan cytochromes P450 from Mycobacterium tuberculosis : the search for potential drug targets

Tuberculosis (TB) is a disease that the World Health Organisation (WHO) regards as a global pandemic. There is a great need for new drugs to combat this threat. Drug resistant strains of the causative agent, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), have increased the urgency of this quest for novel anti-mycobacterial medicines. Publication of the Mtb genome sequence revealed a large number of cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes [Cole, S. T. et al. 1998]. These mono-oxygenase enzymes have been studied for many years and are responsible for metabolic functions in every kingdom of life. Research on the Mtb P450s to date has highlighted several of them as having critcal roles within the organism. CYP121 and CYP128 have been implicated as essential through gene knockout studies. It has been demonstrated that CYP125 is not essential for viability. However, it is part of a gene cluster highly important for Mtb infectivity and virulence. Due to the prospective importance of P450s to Mtb, this group of enzymes is under investigation as a source of novel drug targets. CYP142 was discovered as a potential drug target after it was located to a gene cluster involved in cholesterol catabolism during Mtb dormancy. As part of this PhD project, it was demonstrated that CYP142 performs an almost identical role to that reported for CYP125. These enzymes both perform C27 hydroxylation and carboxylation of the cholesterol side chain. However, variations in the level of oxidation have been identified, dependent upon the redox system with which these P450s are associated. A crystal structure of CYP142 showing high similarity in active site architecture to CYP125 supports the physiological role of CYP142 in cholesterol catabolism. Combining this with in vitro data which demonstrates that CYP142 possesses high affinity for a range of azole anti-fungal agents [Ahmad, Z. et al. 2005, 2006] supports the suggestion that it is a candidate target for the next generation of anti-mycobacterial drugs. CYP144 was highlighted as being important during the latent phase of Mtb growth, a phase that is not targeted by any of the current antimycobacterials. Work performed as part of this PhD has shown that many characteristics of CYP144 are highly comparable to those reported for other MtbP450s. CYP144 shows high affinity and specificity towards many azole molecules. Econazole, clotrimazole and miconazole have repeatedly been shown to bind to MtbP450s, including CYP144 and CYP142, with high affinity and are excellent potential candidates as novel anti-mycobacterial agents. An N-terminally truncated form of CYP144, CYP144-T, has been investigated in the pursuit of a CYP144 crystal structure. It is hoped that this will enable the elucidation of a physiological role for CYP144. Both CYP142 and CYP144 have demonstrated biochemical and biophysical characteristics that contribute to our knowledge of P450 enzymes. This PhD has established that CYP142 exhibits an equilibrium between P450 and P420 species in its CO-bound, ferrous form. A conversion from P420, and stabilisation of P450, upon substrate binding was also demonstrated. CYP144 displays unusual azole coordination characteristics when examined by EPR and removal of the CYP144 gene from Mtb increased sensitivity of the strain to clotrimazole. Studies of these enzymes has advanced knowledge of P450 and Mtb redox chemistry, established roles for the MtbP450 cohort and identified the potential of anti-mycobacterial drugs and associated targets.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

The Transformation of the Visegrad Countries and Its Consequences: Reflections in the Light of Selected Globalist Theories of International Relations

The post-communist transformation of Central Europe, in particular the Visegrad countries (Poland, Czechoslovakia - later the Czech Republic and Slovakia, and Hungary), as well as its consequences have been largely analysed through the liberal IR theory: democratization, liberalization of trade, and the accession to the EU and NATO have been considered as conforming to the interests of post-communist countries. However, some authors have proposed alternative interpretations that are rooted in the globalist theory of international relations, i.e. empire studies, dependency theory, 'world-system' perspectives, and post-colonialism. According to these interpretations, the transformation of the Visegrad states essentially constituted a change of the dominant power in the region: the declining Soviet Union/Russia was replaced by the Western powers - the United States and the European Union. The neoliberal economic reforms followed the principles of the “Washington consensus” and corresponded neither to economic rationality nor to the will of the people of the Visegrad countries. The enlargement of the EU forced post-communist countries to adapt their political, economic, and legal systems to the Western norms. This process brought some benefits, but was realized at the expense of democratic standards. In consequence, the Visegrad countries remain a semi-periphery of the West - convenient export markets and a source of cheap labour - which situates them far behind the highly developed Western Europe

Stanisław Parzymies, Polityka zagraniczna Francji po zimnej wojnie. 25 lat w służbie wielobiegunowości, Wydawnictwo Akademickie Dialog, Warszawa 2017, ss. 598

Polityka zagraniczna Francji jest zagadnieniem szczególnie interesującym zarówno dla naukowców, jak i dla szerszej publiki. Francja dość konsekwentnie stara się, wbrew dominującym w stosunkach międzynarodowych trendom, promować swoją wizję świata, zgodną z jej interesami narodowymi. W przypadku obserwatorów z Polski dochodzi do tego niezrozumiała dla nas fascynacja Francji Rosją, a także złożony stan stosunków dwustronnych, na które składają się długa historia, bliskie związki kulturowe, a zarazem trudne relacje polityczne. (fragment tekstu

Address delivered at the House of Lords in Vienna

Title: Address delivered at the House of Lords in Vienna Originally published: Stenographische Protokolle über die Sitzungen des Herrenhauses des Reichsrates 1909 bis 1911 XX. Session (1. bis 15. Sitzung), Wien, k.k. Hof- und Staatsdruckerei, 1911, pp. 286–287. Language: German The excerpts used are from the original. About the author Roman Maria Aleksander Szeptycki (Andrei Sheptytsky) [1865, Przyłbice near Lviv (Ukr. Prylbychi, present-day Ukraine) – 1944, Lviv]: clergyman and Ukrainian nat..

The European Union in the Mirror of the Ukrainian Crisis (2013–2014)

In November 2013, largely under the pressure of Russia, the Ukrainian authorities decided not to sign the association agreement with the European Union (EU). Such decision led to massive social protests in Ukraine, and ultimately to a major political crisis. In February the president Victor Yanukovych was overthrown. In counter-reaction the Russian Federation invaded the Ukrainian Crimea and launched a proxy war in the Eastern Ukraine. If the strength of the pro-European protests was an opportunity for the European Union, the recent developments in Ukraine has also pointed out some weaknesses of the EU policy towards its Eastern neighbourhood. First, EU has been unable to present an association offer which would be truly attractive and reliable for the postSoviet Ukraine in the period of deep economic crisis. Second, the Ukrainian crisis has shown that EU is unable to react quickly and decisively to challenges rising in its neighbourhood. Third, the European Union remains unwilling to engage into open confrontation with the Russian Federation over the common neighbourhood, which is due both to the role of Russia as EU political and economic partner and the specificity of the EU power in international relations. Within this context the EU diplomacy was replaced by the most influent member states, which are highly interested in the EU cooperation with Russia and/or Ukraine

Address delivered at the House of Lords in Vienna

Title: Address delivered at the House of Lords in Vienna Originally published: Stenographische Protokolle über die Sitzungen des Herrenhauses des Reichsrates 1909 bis 1911 XX. Session (1. bis 15. Sitzung), Wien, k.k. Hof- und Staatsdruckerei, 1911, pp. 286–287. Language: German The excerpts used are from the original. About the author Roman Maria Aleksander Szeptycki (Andrei Sheptytsky) [1865, Przyłbice near Lviv (Ukr. Prylbychi, present-day Ukraine) – 1944, Lviv]: clergyman and Ukrainian nat..

Polish Media on Ukraine (The Start of a Discussion)

Polish media has played an active role in the policy towards Ukraine, particularly from the outbreak of the Revolution of Dignity and war with Russia, but this subject has not received in-depth academic treatment. The author describes the discourse of Polish mass media on the subject of Ukraine, using selected television stations and  newspapers as examples. The most important television stations (TVP, TVN, Polsat) do not present a  uniform image of Ukraine, and their discourse is in a large part reactive, in connection with current events. The situation is slightly different in the case of the print media. Three different types of discourse can be distinguished. The weekly Do Rzeczy continues the political tradition of Józef Piłsudski. It displays considerable interest in the former eastern borderlands and is distrustful towards Russia. The weekly Przegląd refers indirectly to the traditions of national democracy and the political realists of the People’s Republic of Poland period, being critical of Ukraine and pointing out the importance of relations with Russia. Gazeta Wyborcza has in large measure inherited the ideas of Jerzy Giedroyc. It emphasizes the need for reconciliation with Ukraine and for supporting it in its democratic and pro-European strivings

Olga Wasiuta, Sergiusz Wasiuta, Wojna hybrydowa Rosji przeciwko Ukrainie, Arcana, Kraków 2017, ss. 424

W ciągu ponad czterech lat, jakie upłynęły od aneksji przez Rosję Krymu i wybuchu wojny w Donbasie, dużą popularność zyskało w publicystyce, a także literaturze popularnej i naukowej pojęcie "wojna hybrydowa". Termin ten stosowany był jednak na gruncie naukowym już wcześniej, choć bardziej w rozumieniu wojny partyzanckiej czy konfliktu o niskiej intensywności1. W odniesieniu do współczesnej sytuacji, zwłaszcza agresywnej polityki Rosji wobec Ukrainy, pojęcie to nie doczekało się jednej, powszechnie akceptowanej definicji. Autorzy zdają się zgodni, że wojna hybrydowa jest pojęciem bliskoznacznym z propagandą czy wojną informacyjną2. Niektórzy proponują jednak szersze jej rozumienie, uwzględniające również np. korupcję w sektorze obronnym3. Na Ukrainie ukazało się już kilka publikacji książkowych poświęconych tej problematyce4. W Polsce refleksja na ten temat ma bardziej ograniczony charakter5. Dlatego na uwagę zasługuje pierwsza kompleksowa publikacja na polskim rynku wydawniczym poświęcona tej problematyce autorstwa dwojga naukowców pochodzących z Ukrainy, a obecnie związanych z Uniwersytetem Pedagogicznym w Krakowie: Olgi Wasiuty, dyrektor Instytutu Bezpieczeństwa i Edukacji Obywatelskiej tejże uczelni, i Sergiusza Wasiuty z Instytutu Politologii UP. (fragment tekstu