Multiculturalismo e femminismo. Il multiculturalismo danneggia le donne?

Traduzione di Maria Chiara Pievatol

Evidence of Heterogeneity by Race/Ethnicity in Genetic Determinants of QT Interval

QT-interval (QT) prolongation is an established risk factor for ventricular tachyarrhythmia and sudden cardiac death. Previous genome-wide association studies in populations of the European descent have identified multiple genetic loci that influence QT, but few have examined these loci in ethnically diverse populations

52 Genetic Loci Influencing Myocardial Mass.

BACKGROUND: Myocardial mass is a key determinant of cardiac muscle function and hypertrophy. Myocardial depolarization leading to cardiac muscle contraction is reflected by the amplitude and duration of the QRS complex on the electrocardiogram (ECG). Abnormal QRS amplitude or duration reflect changes in myocardial mass and conduction, and are associated with increased risk of heart failure and death. OBJECTIVES: This meta-analysis sought to gain insights into the genetic determinants of myocardial mass. METHODS: We carried out a genome-wide association meta-analysis of 4 QRS traits in up to 73,518 individuals of European ancestry, followed by extensive biological and functional assessment. RESULTS: We identified 52 genomic loci, of which 32 are novel, that are reliably associated with 1 or more QRS phenotypes at p < 1 × 10(-8). These loci are enriched in regions of open chromatin, histone modifications, and transcription factor binding, suggesting that they represent regions of the genome that are actively transcribed in the human heart. Pathway analyses provided evidence that these loci play a role in cardiac hypertrophy. We further highlighted 67 candidate genes at the identified loci that are preferentially expressed in cardiac tissue and associated with cardiac abnormalities in Drosophila melanogaster and Mus musculus. We validated the regulatory function of a novel variant in the SCN5A/SCN10A locus in vitro and in vivo. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, our findings provide new insights into genes and biological pathways controlling myocardial mass and may help identify novel therapeutic targets

Challenging the Bioethical Application of the Autonomy Principle within Multicultural Societies

This article critically re-examines the application of the principle of patient autonomy within bioethics. In complex societies such as those found in North America and Europe health care professionals are increasingly confronted by patients from diverse ethnic, cultural, and religious backgrounds. This affects the relationship between clinicians and patients to the extent that patients’ deliberations upon the proposed courses of treatment can, in various ways and to varying extents, be influenced by their ethnic, cultural, and religious commitments. The principle of patient autonomy is the main normative constraint imposed upon medical treatment. Bioethicists typically appeal to the principle of patient autonomy as a means for generally attempting to resolve conflict between patients and clinicians. In recent years a number of bioethicists have responded to the condition of multiculturalism by arguing that the autonomy principle provides the basis for a common moral discourse capable of regulating the relationship between clinicians and patients in those situations where patients’ beliefs and commitments do or may contradict the ethos of biomedicine. This article challenges that claim. I argue that the precise manner in which the autonomy principle is philosophically formulated within such accounts prohibits bioethicists’ deployment of autonomy as a core ideal for a common moral discourse within multicultural societies. The formulation of autonomy underlying such accounts cannot be extended to simply assimilate individuals’ most fundamental religious and cultural commitments and affiliations per se. I challenge the assumption that respecting prospective patients’ fundamental religious and cultural commitments is necessarily always compatible with respecting their autonomy. I argue that the character of some peoples’ relationship with their cultural or religious community acts to significantly constrain the possibilities for acting autonomously. The implication is clear. The autonomy principle may be presently invalidly applied in certain circumstances because the conditions for the exercise of autonomy have not been fully or even adequately satisfied. This is a controversial claim. The precise terms of my argument, while addressing the specific application of the autonomy principle within bioethics, will resonate beyond this sphere and raises questions for attempts to establish a common moral discourse upon the ideal of personal autonomy within multicultural societies generally

Gênero, o público e o privado Gender, the Public and the Private

Neste artigo, a filósofa política Susan Moller Okin discute as configurações históricas da dicotomia público/privado, analisando seus significados a partir de uma perspectiva de gênero. A ausência de reflexão sobre o gênero - especialmente sob duas formas, a negligência à realidade política das relações familiares e a linguagem 'neutra' - tem levado muitos teóricos, do passado e do presente, a reafirmar essa dicotomia sem levar em conta sua natureza patriarcal. Para Okin, os domínios da vida doméstica (pessoal) e da vida não-doméstica (pública) não podem ser interpretados isoladamente, o que demanda uma revisão profunda dos fundamentos de grande parte da teoria política liberal. A autora enfrenta essa tarefa, abordando problemas importantes, como o valor da privacidade.<br>In this article, the political philosopher Susan Moller Okin discusses the dichotomy public-private from a gendered perspective. Overlooking gender - especially as it assumes the form of overlooking the political reality of the family and gender 'neutral' language - has become, in many past and present authors, a reinforcement of that dichotomy, silencing about its patriarchal nature. As Okin understands it, domestic (personal) sphere and non-domestic (public) sphere can not be interpreted isolatedly, what demands a deep revision of the base of most liberal political theory. The author faces this demand, discussing important problems such as the value of privacy

Intersectionalizing European politics: bridging gender and ethnicity

This Dialogues section brings together research from two hitherto separate, interdisciplinary strands of European scholarship on politics: Gender Studies, and Migration and Ethnic Studies. Combining theories, concepts, methods and findings, the papers demonstrate what each field can learn from the other. By exploring various forms of citizenship and representation of ethnic minorities in Western Europe this section addresses the key contributions of Gender Studies and Migration and Ethnic Studies: intersectionality and the critique of methodological nationalism, respectively. Intersectionality challenges scholars to cross gender with other categories such as ethnicity. Methodological nationalism refers to the naturalization of national categories; critics dispute the assumption that the nation/state/society is the natural social and political form of contemporary politics. Both approaches are far from mainstream in political science, and despite their potential they are rarely combined. This essay argues that central future challenges for political science are (1) to mainstream intersectional analysis; (2) to be critical of the construction of taken-for-granted categories and the way such ‘fixed’ categories result from our focus on nation-states; (3) to develop new mix-method toolkits to make this exercise feasible