Destruction of intracerebrally applied red blood cells in cervical lymph nodes. Experimental investigations

In rabbits, intracerebrally applied erythrocytes can move with the cerebrospinal fluid along connecting pathways between the subarachnoid space and the cervical lymph nodes. This study compares the time dependency for the degradation of intracerebrally injected erythrocytes in the brain as well as in the cervical lymph nodes. Rabbits were killed at various predetermined intervals after the intracerebral erythrocyte injection. Microscopic and histologic examination of the brain and the cervical lymph nodes revealed the following findings: (1) Erythrophages first appeared in the brain 24 h after the injection; siderophages, 4 days after the injection. Siderophages were still demonstrable at the conclusion of the study, i.e. 240 days after the injection. (2) In the cervical lymph nodes erythrophages were first observed 1 h after the injection; siderophages, 9 h after the injection. Only isolated erythrophages and siderophages were found in the lymph nodes 12 days after intracerebral injection of red blood cells. Later on no erythrocytes or siderophages were observed in the lymph nodes. The findings indicate that non-phagocytized red blood cells arriving at the lymph nodes were ingested by local macrophages. The extremely rapid ingestion and digestion of the red blood cells by lymph node macrophages as well as the possible reasons were discussed.     

Inhibition of non-specific leukocyte esterase activity. Absence of monocyte esterase activity due to phosphoric and thiophosphoric acid ester intoxication

In vitro evaluation of the effect of five insecticidal phosphoric and 11 thiophosphoric acid esters on different, non-specific human leukocytes esterases indicated that most of the organic phosphor compounds studied inhibited the activity of neutral alpha-naphthylacetate esterase, alpha-naphthylbutyryl esterase, and naphthol AS acetate esterase, i.e. the monocyte esterases. The extent of inhibition was dose dependent; the inhibiting dose being identical for the various non-specific esterases. Reactivation with Obidoxim was not successful. Monocyte esterase activity in a human survivor of E 605 intoxication was detectable only after serum acetylcholinesterase had returned to normal levels. The organic phosphor compound studied, however, inhibited neither acid alpha-naphthylacetate esterase nor naphthol AS-D chloroacetate esterase activity.     

Multicultural accommodation and the ideal of non-domination

What normative principles should multicultural states be guided by in responding to minority claims for the accommodation of cultural and religious social practices? This article explores how theories of non-domination can contribute to debates on this question in the multiculturalism literature. It examines Philip Pettit’s, Cecile Laborde’s and Frank Lovett’s republican theories and argues that non-domination-based approaches to multicultural accommodation are more suitable to assess the dynamic of intra- and inter-group relations than the prominent liberal–multiculturalist alternative. However, their advantages are not contingent on the wider theories from which they emerge, but rather related to generalizable features of the non-domination ideal. This suggests that non-domination should also be appealing to non-republicans, who can adopt it minimally as a critical principle to determine illegitimate policies.     

Values,Communication Behavior,and Political Participation

This article examines how communication patterns mediate the influences of values on political participation. We find that the positive effects of postmaterial values on participation are mediated through reading public affairs content in newspapers. In contrast, materialist values negatively affect participation through watching television entertainment. Interpersonal discussion in which disagreement occurs mediates both the positive effect of reading public affairs and the negative effect of materialism on political participation. We also provide what may be a better explanation of the influence of communication patterns on political participation by going beyond acquisition of factual political knowledge. We show that individuals' efforts to think about news and search for additional information and perspectives modify what people "get from" media. Reflecting about news and integrating information from various sources promote better understanding of the political world and may provide a stronger cognitive base for political participation than factual political knowledge.     

Trade versus Culture in the Digital Environment: An Old Conflict in Need of a New Definition

Following the recent UNESCO Convention on the Protection andPromotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, the firstwave of scholarly work has focused on clarifying the interfacebetween the Convention and the WTO Agreements. Building uponthese analyses, the present article takes however a differentstance. It seeks a new, rather pragmatic definition of the relationshipbetween trade and culture and argues that such a re-definitionis particularly needed in the digital networked environmentthat has modified the ways markets for cultural content functionand the ways in which cultural content is created, distributedand accessed. The article explores first the significance ofthe UNESCO Convention (or the lack thereof) and subsequentlyoutlines a variety of ways in which the WTO framework can beimproved in a ‘neutral’, not necessarily culturallymotivated, manner to become more conducive to the pursuit ofcultural diversity and taking into account the changed realityof digital media. The article also looks at other facets ofthe profoundly fragmented culture-related regulatory frameworkand underscores the critical importance of intellectual propertyrights and of other domains that appear at first sight peripheralto the trade and culture discussion, such as access to infrastructure,interoperability or net neutrality. It is argued that a numberof feasible solutions exist beyond the politically charged confrontationof trade versus culture and that the new digital media landscapemay require a readjustment of the priorities and the tools forthe achievement of the widely accepted objective of culturaldiversity.     

Moral Rights in the Digital Age: New Possibilities for the Democratization of Culture

This paper is concerned with the impact of digital technology on the moral rights of authors. The ability to reproduce, modify and redistribute artworks through information technology has made it extremely difficult for authors to monitor the use of their works and, where problems arise, to assert their moral rights. In spite of these difficulties, however, this paper argues that moral rights are actually growing in importance because of new technologies. It is precisely when the capacity to manipulate works is greatest that concerns about artistic integrity and the preservation of cultural heritage become most pressing. This paper suggests that technological change calls for a new approach to moral rights: the focus in the future should be on cooperative efforts between authors and their public to protect culture. Technology has the effect of 'democratizing' the relationship between author and audience by allowing the audience to participate more directly in the creative process with the author. Despite the potential threat to artistic integrity, this transformation should nevertheless be embraced by authors and artists for its positive implications for cultural vitality in the longterm.     

Forensic aspects of water intoxication: four case reports and review of relevant literature

Water intoxication (WI) is a rare condition that originates from over-consumption of water, with a potentially fatal outcome. Increased water intake (polydipsia) is followed by urination of high amount of diluted urine (polyuria) which are the main initial symptoms of WI. We present four case reports of WI. Two of them are unusual pediatric clinical cases using medical documentation and police case files, one of which is related to child abuse, and the other to a psychiatric disorder. The other two cases are fatal adult cases submitted to autopsy from a psychiatric hospital. Also, we present a diagnostic algorithm for polydipsia and polyuria before death. WI is usually seen in patients with psychiatric disorders, victims of child abuse or torture, drug abusers or it can be iatrogenically induced.     

India,Brazil, and public health: Rule-making through south–south diffusion in the intellectual property rights regime?

This article analyzes the domestic drivers of regulatory state formation in India and Brazil and its consequences for the global rules governing pharmaceutical patents. We first analyze Indian and Brazilian politics of regulatory state formation; then, in light of the extent to which the two countries have built regulatory capacity and capability in the field of patent regulation, we explore whether and how they have been able to influence the existing intellectual property regime in health. We look into India's Section 3(d) and Brazil's prior consent requirement. Whereas India's Section 3(d) regulation has gained international regulatory influence by diffusing to other developing countries, the same cannot be said for Brazil's prior consent regulation, which has been caught by policy-reversals. The transition toward regulatory states in emerging countries is a bulky road and does not progress in linear ways. However, once regulatory capacity and capability have been solidified, domestic policy innovations can become internationally influential.