Genetic, Pathophysiological and Clinical Aspects of Nephrocalcinosis

Nephrocalcinosis describes the ectopic deposition of calcium salts in the kidney parenchyma. Nephrocalcinosis can result from a number of acquired causes, but also an even greater number of genetic diseases, predominantly renal, but also extra-renal. Here we provide a review of the genetic causes of nephrocalcinosis, along with putative mechanisms, illustrated by human and animal data

Dmitri Shalin Interview with Dennis Wrong about Erving Goffman entitled Bobby Adamson Said, “Pooky Is a Genius, and as Soon as He Starts Writing His Own Stuff It Will Be Recognized”

This interview with Dr. Dennis Wrong, Professor Emeritus of Sociology at New York University, was recorded over the phone on December 10 and 12, 2010. Dmitri Shalin transcribed the interview, after which Dennis Wrong edited the transcripts and approved posting the present version in the Erving Goffman Archives. Dr. Wrong also sent in a three page handwritten memoir. Breaks in the conversation flow are indicated by ellipses. The interviewer’s questions are shortened in several places

Band 3 mutations, distal renal tubular acidosis, and Southeast Asian ovalocytosis

Band 3 mutations, distal renal tubular acidosis, and Southeast Asian ovalocytosis. Familial distal renal tubular acidosis (dRTA) and Southeast Asian ovalocytosis (SAO) may coexist in the same patient. Both can originate in mutations of the anion-exchanger 1 gene (AE1), which codes for band 3, the bicarbonate/chloride exchanger in both the red cell membrane and the basolateral membrane of the collecting tubule alpha-intercalated cell. Dominant dRTA is usually due to a mutation of the AE1 gene, which does not alter red cell morphology. SAO is caused by an AE1 mutation that leads to a nine amino acid deletion of red cell band 3, but by itself does not cause dRTA. Recent gene studies have shown that AE1 mutations are responsible for autosomal recessive dRTA in several countries in Southeast Asia; these patients may be homozygous for the mutation or be compound heterozygotes of two different AE1 mutations, one of which is usually the SAO mutation

Evaluating recall of key safety messages, and attitudes and perceptions of a patient safety initiative at a pediatric hospital

Involving inpatients in their safety and well-being is becoming increasingly common. Interventions have been developed to encourage patients to be active in their own safety, but published evaluations are scarce. The Patient Safety Ambassador (PSA) program was developed to increase patient and parent/guardian engagement and knowledge in patient safety. This study aimed to determine recall ability of key safety messages and explore attitudes and perceptions towards the PSA program, hence obtaining feedback for program improvements. Participants were pediatric inpatients and parents of inpatients. Face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted. Cued and non-cued recall ability was determined using questions with and without specific cues, while attitudes and perceptions were explored using open-ended questions regarding patient safety. QSR NVivo 10 software was used to analyze interviews for recall ability and major themes. 95% of parents could remember all safety messages with cues, but could only remember one (35%) or two (32.5%) messages without cues. Inpatient participants could remember up to 4 messages with cues, no messages without cues, and, unlike parents, were unable to discuss their attitudes and perceptions towards safety. Five major themes emerged from analysis of interviews with parents: the importance of medication knowledge, parental involvement in care, having trust in healthcare team, asking questions, and advocacy. Use of cues appears beneficial in facilitating recall of safety messages. Parents had varied attitudes and perceptions to safety. Future research can explore methods to engage pediatric inpatients, integrate cues to increase recall, and examine resulting behavioural changes

Calibration of stakeholder influence in the UK higher education sector

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Corporate Security Responsibility: Towards a Conceptual Framework for a Comparative Research Agenda

The political debate about the role of business in armed conflicts has increasingly raised expectations as to governance contributions by private corporations in the fields of conflict prevention, peace-keeping and postconflict peace-building. This political agenda seems far ahead of the research agenda, in which the negative image of business in conflicts, seen as fuelling, prolonging and taking commercial advantage of violent conflicts,still prevails. So far the scientific community has been reluctant to extend the scope of research on ‘corporate social responsibility’ to the area of security in general and to intra-state armed conflicts in particular. As a consequence, there is no basis from which systematic knowledge can be generated about the conditions and the extent to which private corporations can fulfil the role expected of them in the political discourse. The research on positive contributions of private corporations to security amounts to unconnected in-depth case studies of specific corporations in specific conflict settings. Given this state of research, we develop a framework for a comparative research agenda to address the question: Under which circumstances and to what extent can private corporations be expected to contribute to public security

Agency: The Internal Split of Structure

In this article I first examine the ways in which the dual terms of structure and agency are used in sociological theories. Then, relying on Lacan’s notions of split‐subject, the formula of sexuation, and forms of discourses, and Laclau’s theory of ideological hegemony, I argue that agency in most current sociological formulations is but a posited other of the structure that dissolves if examined closely; it is similar to the Lacanian fantasmic object. To resolve the fundamental paradoxes in structure‐agency theories, I reformulate structures as paradoxical, incomplete, and contingent symbolic formations that are always partial and unstable due to their inclusion and exclusion operations. Consequently, social transformational agency consists in the structural inconsistencies that open structural gaps available to social actors. As a result, agency can be recognized in two moments conceived as two symbolic gestures. From this perspective, agency as such is always a possibility qua potential and its efficacy is always retroactively recognized‐actualized from within a new social structure or symbolic order

The influence of the political environment and destination governance on sustainable tourism development: a study of Bled, Slovenia

In the context of sustainable tourism development, there are many studies about the exchange process between residents and tourism, yet this issue is practically unexplored with respect to the political environment of tourism. Therefore, this paper introduces and posits that the political environment is a necessary enabler for implementing sustainable tourism. The authors extend the established three-pillar sustainability concept by adding in the political dimension. Then they surveyed how residents' positive and negative perceptions of tourism impacts determine their satisfaction with life in the tourism destination and thus their support for tourism in their community. The model was empirically tested within the context of the long-established Alpine destination of Bled in Slovenia. The findings confirm the importance of the political environment and question the sustainability of Bled's tourism development. It is suggested that the community has relatively weak destination governance due to the underdeveloped political environment. The survey expands and deepens the tourism sustainability debate by adding in the political environment and how it relates to the emerging growth of research on destination governance. The proposed model can be adapted and applied to any destination in order to improve its governance, including the implementation of sustainable tourism development