Montesquieu and Rousseau on the Passions and Politics

Thesis advisor: Christopher KellyThe question my dissertation addresses is the relationship between human passions and politics. It attempts to try to understand whether or not there is a standard in nature for judging how human passions ought to be ordered, if at all, taking as guides Montesquieu and Rousseau. I try to see if we can know this standard by reason, and if so, how? And I try to understand whether or not any natural passions might be preserved and ordered well in society. In addition, I try to investigate how society, or various forms of government, modify or transform the natural passions, for good and ill. In The Spirit of the Laws, Montesquieu produces an ambitious yet politically practical vision of the best form of government. After evaluating and rejecting ancient republics animated by political virtue, monarchies animated by honor, and despotisms animated by fear as possible candidates for the best form of government, Montesquieu thinks he has found the best form of government in the modern English form of liberal commercial republicanism, rooted in political freedom, commerce, and a moderate and tolerant if diluted form of religion, which might triumph over the globe as the final rational and most humanly satisfying form of government. And according to Montesquieu, the principles of the modern commercial republic adhere to the political standards that have been rationally discovered through the final and correct understanding of men’s passions in the state of nature. Against this confident assertion and the ambitious scope of Montesquieu’s goals, nothing less than universal peace and prosperity, and the apparently true knowledge of the best form of government, Rousseau launches a no less ambitious critique of the early modern vision, casting doubt on its political feasibility, and on its awareness of the true core of human nature and happiness. Rousseau ultimately thinks that we cannot order the passions to create a best and enduring government, since human self-interest, irrationality, and corrupt social passions ultimately tend toward oppression, despotism, and universal misery. And according to Rousseau a return to nature is for virtually everyone impossible. I consider Rousseau’s account of the same passions that Montesquieu evaluates, which he examines primarily in the Second Discourse, Emile, Considerations on the Government of Poland, and Political Economy.Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2016.Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.Discipline: Political Science

Species-specific molecular responses of wild coral reef fishes during a marine heatwave

The marine heatwave of 2016 was one of the longest and hottest thermal anomalies recorded on the Great Barrier Reef, influencing multiple species of marine ectotherms, including coral reef fishes. There is a gap in our understanding of what the physiological consequences of heatwaves in wild fish populations are. Thus, in this study, we used liver transcriptomes to understand the molecular response of five species to the 2016 heatwave conditions. Gene expression was species specific, yet we detected overlap in functional responses associated with thermal stress previously reported in experimental setups. The molecular response was also influenced by the duration of exposure to elevated temperatures. This study highlights the importance of considering the effects of extreme warming events when evaluating the consequences of climate change on fish communities

The time course of molecular acclimation to seawater in a euryhaline fish

The Arabian pupfish, Aphanius dispar, is a euryhaline fish inhabiting both inland nearly-freshwater desert ponds and highly saline Red Sea coastal lagoons of the Arabian Peninsula. Desert ponds and coastal lagoons, located respectively upstream and at the mouths of dry riverbeds ("wadies"), have been found to potentially become connected during periods of intense rainfall, which could allow the fish to migrate between these different habitats. Flash floods would therefore flush Arabian pupfish out to sea, requiring a rapid acclimation to a greater than 40 ppt change in salinity. To investigate the molecular pathways of salinity acclimation during such events, a Red Sea coastal lagoon and a desert pond population were sampled, with the latter exposed to a rapid increase in water salinity. Changes in branchial gene expression were investigated via genome-wide transcriptome measurements over time from 6 h to 21 days. The two natural populations displayed basal differences in genes related to ion transport, osmoregulation and immune system functions. These mechanisms were also differentially regulated in seawater transferred fish, revealing their crucial role in long-term adaptation. Other processes were only transiently activated shortly after the salinity exposure, including cellular stress response mechanisms, such as molecular chaperone synthesis and apoptosis. Tissue remodelling processes were also identified as transient, but took place later in the timeline, suggesting their importance to long-term acclimation as they likely equip the fish with lasting adaptations to their new environment. The alterations in branchial functional pathways displayed by Arabian pupfish in response to salinity increases are diverse. These reveal a large toolkit of molecular processes important for adaptation to hyperosmolarity that allow for successful colonization to a wide variety of different habitats

Defining the Epidemiology of Safety Risks in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Patients Requiring Surgery

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to determine the incidence, type, severity, preventability, and contributing factors of nonroutine events (NREs)-events perceived by care providers or skilled observers as a deviations from optimal care based on the clinical situation-in the perioperative (i.e., preoperative, operative, and postoperative) care of surgical neonates in the neonatal intensive care unit and operating room. METHODS: A prospective observational study of noncardiac surgical neonates, who received preoperative and postoperative neonatal intensive care unit care, was conducted at an urban academic children\u27s hospital between November 1, 2016, and March 31, 2018. One hundred twenty-nine surgical cases in 109 neonates were observed. The incidence and description of NREs were collected via structured researcher-administered survey tool of involved clinicians. Primary measurements included clinicians\u27 ratings of NRE severity and contributory factors and trained research assistants\u27 ratings of preventability. RESULTS: One or more NREs were reported in 101 (78%) of 129 observed cases for 247 total NREs. Clinicians reported 2 (2) (median, interquartile range) NREs per NRE case with a maximum severity of 3 (1) (possible range = 1-5). Trained research assistants rated 47% of NREs as preventable and 11% as severe and preventable. The relative risks for National Surgical Quality Improvement Program - pediatric major morbidity and 30-day mortality were 1.17 (95% confidence interval = 0.92-1.48) and 1.04 (95% confidence interval = 1.00-1.08) in NRE cases versus non-NRE cases. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of NREs in neonatal perioperative care at an academic children\u27s hospital was high and of variable severity with a myriad of contributory factors

Age-Gender Influence on the Rate-Corrected QT Interval and the QT-Heart Rate Relation in Families With Genotypically Characterized Long QT Syndrome

AbstractObjectives. We sought to analyze age-gender differences in the rate-corrected QT (QTc) interval in the presence of a QT-prolonging gene.Background. Compared with men, women exhibit a longer QTc interval and an increased propensity toward torsade de pointes. In normal subjects, the QTc gender difference reflects QTc interval shortening in men during adolescence.Methods. QTc intervals were analyzed according to age (<16 or ≥16 years) and gender in 460 genotyped blood relatives from families with long QT syndrome linked to chromosome 11p (KVLQT1; n = 199), 7q (HERG; n = 208) or 3p (SCN5A; n = 53).Results. The mean QTc interval in genotype-negative blood relatives (n = 240) was shortest in men, but similar among women, boys and girls. For genotype-positive blood relatives, men exhibited the shortest mean QTc interval in chromosome 7q- and 11p-linked blood relatives (n = 194), but not in the smaller 3p-linked group (n = 26). Among pooled 7q- and 11p-linked blood relatives, multiple regression analysis identified both genotype (p < 0.001) and age-gender group (men vs. women/children; p < 0.001) as significant predictors of the QTc interval; and heart rate (p < 0.001), genotype (p < 0.001) and age-gender group (p = 0.01) as significant predictors of the absolute QT interval. A shorter mean QT interval in men was most evident for heart rates <60 beats/min.Conclusions. In familial long QT syndrome linked to either chromosome 7q or 11p, men exhibit shorter mean QTc values than both women and children, for both genotype-positive and -negative blood relatives. Thus, adult gender differences in propensity toward torsade de pointes may reflect the relatively greater presence in men of a factor that blunts QT prolongation responses, especially at slow heart rates.(J Am Coll Cardiol 1997;29:93–9)

Increased plasma thioredoxin levels in patients with sepsis: positive association with macrophage migration inhibitory factor.

PURPOSE: To establish the relationship between plasma levels of thioredoxin (Trx) and macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) in systemic inflammatory stress syndrome (SIRS)/sepsis. METHODS: Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay measurements of Trx, MIF, IL-6, -8, and -10 and enzyme-linked fluorescent assay determination of procalcitonin (PCT) in plasma from patients with SIRS/sepsis, neutropenic sepsis, healthy volunteers and pre-oesophagectomy patients. RESULTS: Thioredoxin was significantly higher in SIRS/sepsis patients [101.3 ng ml(−1), interquartile range (IQR) 68.7–155.6, n = 32] compared with that in healthy controls (49.5 ng ml(−1), IQR 31.4–71.1, P < 0.001, n = 17) or pre-oesophagectomy patients (40.5 ng ml(−1), IQR 36.9–63.2, P < 0.01, n = 7), but was not raised in neutropenics (n = 5). MIF levels were also significantly higher in SIRS/sepsis patients (12.1 ng ml(−1), IQR 9.5–15.5, n = 35), but not in the neutropenic group, when compared with healthy controls (9.3 ng ml(−1), IQR 7.3–10.7, P < 0.01, n = 20). Trx levels correlated, positively, with MIF levels and APACHE II scores. Plasma levels of IL-6, -8 and -10 and PCT increased significantly in patients with SIRS/sepsis (P < 0.001) and with neutropenic sepsis, but did not correlate with Trx or MIF levels. CONCLUSION: Plasma levels of Trx, MIF, IL-6, -8, -10 and PCT were raised in patients with SIRS/sepsis. Comparisons between mediators suggest a unique correlation of Trx with MIF. Moreover, Trx and MIF differed from cytokines and PCT in that levels were significantly lower in patients with neutropenia compared with the main SIRS/sepsis group. By contrast, IL-8 and PCT levels were significantly greater in the neutropenic patient group. The link between MIF and Trx highlighted in this study has implications for future investigations into the pathogenesis of SIRS/sepsis

The ocean sampling day consortium.

Ocean Sampling Day was initiated by the EU-funded Micro B3 (Marine Microbial Biodiversity, Bioinformatics, Biotechnology) project to obtain a snapshot of the marine microbial biodiversity and function of the world's oceans. It is a simultaneous global mega-sequencing campaign aiming to generate the largest standardized microbial data set in a single day. This will be achievable only through the coordinated efforts of an Ocean Sampling Day Consortium, supportive partnerships and networks between sites. This commentary outlines the establishment, function and aims of the Consortium and describes our vision for a sustainable study of marine microbial communities and their embedded functional traits

The ocean sampling day consortium

Ocean Sampling Day was initiated by the EU-funded Micro B3 (Marine Microbial Biodiversity, Bioinformatics, Biotechnology) project to obtain a snapshot of the marine microbial biodiversity and function of the world’s oceans. It is a simultaneous global mega-sequencing campaign aiming to generate the largest standardized microbial data set in a single day. This will be achievable only through the coordinated efforts of an Ocean Sampling Day Consortium, supportive partnerships and networks between sites. This commentary outlines the establishment, function and aims of the Consortium and describes our vision for a sustainable study of marine microbial communities and their embedded functional traits