78 research outputs found
Franz Janowitz as intellectual follower of Otto Weininger
No full textFranz Janowitz je autorem skici s názvem "Die Biene". Tento krátký alegorický text sice používá metaforu včely, v té době již tradiční, netradičně ji ovšem přenáší do oblasti podstaty sexuality ženského pohlaví, čímž metafora nabývá oproti obvyklé pozitivní konotaci konotaci negativní. Autor prostřednictvím této dekontextualizace zdánlivě pojednává o životě včel, ve skutečnosti se ale zabývá ženskou sexualitou v duchu filozofie Otty Weiningera, jíž byl prokazatelně ovlivněn.Franz Janowitz is the author of the study "Die Biene". This short allegorical text uses the metaphor of the bee, traditional for the time. This metaphor, however, is utilized in a non-traditional way to express the essence of female sexuality. Thus the original positive denotation is changed into a negative one. By way of this de-contextualisation, the author refers seemingly to the lives of bees. In fact, he focuses on female sexuality, influenced by the philosophical approach of Otto Weininger
Reproductive fitness and dietary choice behavior of the genetic model organism Caenorhabditis elegans under semi-natural conditions
No full textLaboratory breeding conditions of the model organism C. elegans do not correspond with the conditions in its natural soil habitat. To assess the consequences of the differences in environmental conditions, the effects of air composition, medium and bacterial food on reproductive fitness and/or dietary-choice behavior of C. elegans were investigated. The reproductive fitness of C. elegans was maximal under oxygen deficiency and not influenced by a high fractional share of carbon dioxide. In media approximating natural soil structure, reproductive fitness was much lower than in standard laboratory media. In semi-natural media, the reproductive fitness of C. elegans was low with the standard laboratory food bacterium E. coli (gamma-Proteobacteria), but significantly higher with C. arvensicola (Bacteroidetes) and B. tropica (beta-Proteobacteria) as food. Dietary-choice experiments in semi-natural media revealed a low preference of C. elegans for E. coli but significantly higher preferences for C. arvensicola and B. tropica (among other bacteria). Dietary-choice experiments under quasi-natural conditions, which were feasible by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) of bacteria, showed a high preference of C. elegans for Cytophaga-Flexibacter-Bacteroides, Firmicutes, and beta-Proteobacteria, but a low preference for gamma-Proteobacteria. The results show that data on C. elegans under standard laboratory conditions have to be carefully interpreted with respect to their biological significance
Untersuchungen zu Nitrilasen der NIT1-Gruppe in glucosinolat-bildenden Pflanzen
No full textGlucosinolate sind typische Sekundärmetabolite der Brassicales, die an der Interaktion dieser Pflanzen mit Herbivoren und vermutlich auch Pathogenen beteiligt sind. Im Falle einer Gewebeläsion werden Glucosinolate durch eine Thioglucosidase (Myrosinase) in biologisch aktive Verbindungen, z.B. Isothiocyanate oder Nitrile, umgesetzt. Für ist aber auch ein verwundungsunabhängiger Katabolismus von Glucosinolaten beschrieben worden. In dieser Pflanze existiert auch eine Gruppe von Nitrilasen, für die glucosinolat-abgeleitete Nitrile als Substrate beschrieben wurden und die daher vermutlich eine Rolle im Glucosinolatmetabolismus spielen. In dieser Studie wurden Hinweise gefunden, die darauf hindeuten, dass diese Gruppe von Nitrilasen und auch das Vorkommen eines verwundungsunabhängigen Glucosinolatkatabolismus auf die Brassicaceae beschränkt sind. Außerdem wurden Nitrilasen aus zwei weitern Vertretern der Brassicales heterolog exprimiert und untersucht.Glucosinolates are typical secondary metabolites of the Brassicales, which are involved in the interaction of these plants with herbivores and presumably also pathogens. In case of a tissue lesion glucosinolates are converted by a thioglucosidase (myrosinase) into biologically active compounds, for example isothiocyanates or nitriles. For there are also reports of a wounding independent glucosinolate catabolism. Furthermore there is a group of nitrilases in this plant, for which glucosinolate derived nitriles have been described as substrates and which therefore presumably are involved in glucosinolate metabolism. In this study data were presented, which point to the fact that this group of nitrilases and also the occurrence of a wounding independent glucosinolate catabolism are confined to the Brassicaceae. Apart from that nitrilases from two other members of the Brassicales were heterologously expressed and analysed
Private sector approaches to effective family planning
Get PDFEven if per-user costs are controlled or reduced, the rising demand for family planning services will far outstrip governments'and donors'financial resources in most parts of the developing world. This"resource gap"lies at the heart of donor-sponsored initiatives to involve the private sector in family planning, but there are other equally good arguments for doing so. Governments and donors are often unaware of how much the private sector (especially the commerical sector) already participates - and could participate - in family planning. The author discusses why the private sector should be involved in planning, how the private sector should be defined, what the experience has been so far with private sector involvement, and what might be expected in the future. To support family planning in the private sector, the author recommends that donors: (1) expand the total family planning market to help satisfy existing and future unmet needs for contraception; and (2) shift current users from subsidized to more nearly self-supporting outlets - without compromising coverage, equity, or quality of care. The kinds of private sector activities that donors should support depend in part on which contraceptive methods are to be emphasized. Nonclinical systems, for example, are the most efficient way to distribute supply methods (for example, oral contraceptives and condoms), as long as medical backup is available for women who suffer side effects or who wish to switch to another method. These systems of distribution free up scarce resources in clinical facilities and the time of limited medical personnel for the resupply of contraceptives. However, if sterilization is to be emphasized, a close link with existing hospital infrastructure is necessary. Nonclinical distribution favors commercial systems in urban and periurban settings and community-based distribution systems (either public or private) where commercial networks break down. Price subsidies might be considered in areas served by commercial systems, but where consumers cannot afford prevailing commercial prices. The author discusses a wide range of experiences in providing both"supply"methods and clinical methods, such as sterilization (including tubal ligation). Roving sterilization camps have proved effective in Nepal and Thailand, for example, where demand for the procedure was high; they may have backfired in other areas, such as India. Mobile clinic vans have been tried in such countries as Colombia andGuatemala, but their effectiveness and cost-efficiency have not been carefully analyzed. Among the topics the author covers: when to subsidize goods and services, when to introduce new subsidized nongovernmental organization outlets, which regulations may inhibit the expansion of private family planning efforts, how to foster demand for private sector family planning goods and services, and how to promote the private supply of such goods and services.Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Agricultural Knowledge&Information Systems,Health Economics&Finance,Gender and Health,Adolescent Health
Identification and characterization of plant agmatine iminohydrolase, the last missing link in polyamine biosynthesis of plants
No full textThe cloning, expression and characterization of plant agmatine iminohydrolase (AIH, also known as agmatine deiminase, EC 3.5.3.12) is described. Recombinant AIH of Arabidopsis thaliana forms dimers and catalyzes the specific conversion of agmatine to N-carbamoylputrescine and ammonia. Biochemical data suggested that cysteine side chains are involved in catalysis. However, site-directed mutagenesis of the two highly conserved cysteine residues of AIH showed that these cysteines are important but not essential for activity, arguing against a thioester substrate-enzyme intermediate during catalysis. This work represents the completion of the cloning of the arginine decarboxylase pathway genes of higher plants. (C) 2003 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. on behalf of the Federation of European Biochemical Societies
The Rhetoric of Translation: Three Early Perspectives on Translating Torah
No full textThree of the earliest extant Jewish exegetes, Aristobulus, Aristeas, and Philo, all state that King Ptolemy was responsible for a Greek translation of the Hebrew sacred writings. Scholarly discussion has focused on finding the historical kernel in these stories, or linking their creation to a particular event such as the official promulgation of an original or corrected Greek translation. The Letter of Aristeas is usually considered the most accurate version, in large part because it later was used as an introduction to the Septuagint. These discussions have overlooked the fact that in each case the basic plot is fine-tuned to suit each exegete's own ideas about how the Torah was written, how the text and its translation should be read and interpreted, and by whom. A comparison of the three versions reveals that each writer embellishes this bare-bones plot in a distinct manner. In particular, “historical” details are created by each writer that support the very exegetical endeavor he is undertaking. The story of the translation becomes a vehicle for creating all the components necessary to justify the exegete's role, from the creation of a unitary “Torah” out of the multiplicity of versions and stories to the motivation for the particular interpretative moves “demanded” by the very qualities of this Torah. Comparing the three stories gives us valuable insights into the self-perceptions of the exegetes and the emergence of what will become a standard model of text-author-exegete in Judaism.</jats:p
Combat effectiveness in the infantry platoon: beyond the primary group thesis
Get PDFThis is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Taylor & Francis (Routledge) via the DOI in this record.Since 2001, western troops have been heavily engaged in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan raising once again the long-standing question of why small groups of soldiers are willing and able to fight together. Drawing on evidence from recent campaigns, and specifically focusing on American and British forces, this paper examines why small western units have generally been effective in combat. Against the primary group thesis, originally proposed by Morris Janowitz and Edward Shils in 1948, the article claims that training and battle-drills, not interpersonal relations, are the primary factor in generating performance on the battlefield. Moreover, high levels of training alters the relations between soldiers, giving rise to a core group which generates distinctive patterns of motivation
COHESION, INTEGRATION, AND ATTACHMENT IN OWYHEE COUNTY COMMUNITIES
Get PDFHow social change occurs is an important consideration when analyzing the effects of public land management policies on rural communities. This paper utilizes data from a recent study in Owyhee County, Idaho, to explore the combination of social attributes that contribute to community attitudes of cohesion, integration, and attachment in a set of rural communities. Specifically, we examine the importance of social networks and where a particular public land activity, ranching, fits into those networks. We then evaluate the role such networks play in determining respondent attitudes about the cohesiveness of their community, how they are integrated with people in their community, and how attached they are to where they live. The results indicate that increasing density of acquaintenship and intimate social connections to ranching and other local businesses increase the strength of cohesion and integration attitudes. Density of acquaintenship and intimate social connections to local businesses increase community attachment, but a social connection to ranching does not.Community/Rural/Urban Development, Land Economics/Use,
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