1,343 research outputs found
THINKING ABOUT THE UNTHINKABLE: PLANNING FOR A POSSIBLE SECESSION
No full textTHINKING ABOUT THE UNTHINKABLE: PLANNING FOR A POSSIBLE SECESSION</jats:p
Interplay between inflammation, autoimmunity and regeneration in the NOD mouse model of type 1 diabetes and Sjogren’s Syndrome.
No full textPhDA continuous process of tissue remodelling and regeneration is a fundamental feature of the
homeostatic response of the target organ of several autoimmune diseases. In type 1 diabetes (T1D)
the β cell mass is in a constant process of death and renewal in order to regenerate the islets
damaged by the autoimmune process. The relationship linking inflammation and regeneration
during autoimmunity remains elusive. Reg genes, a multigene family discovered using cDNA
libraries derived from rat regenerating islets, have been suggested to play an important role in
epithelial regeneration not only in the pancreas but also in the salivary glands (SG) of Sjogren’s
Syndrome (SS) during autoimmune sialoadenitis.
Both in patients and animal models of T1D and SS, the chronic inflammatory/autoimmune process
is heterogeneous and display high immunological variability. In particular, in a sizeable subset of
cases, inflammatory lesions display ectopic lymphoid structures (ELS) characterised by T/B cell
segregation, follicular dendritic cells networks and differentiation of germinal center B cells.
However, there is limited evidence on the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying ELS
formation and their contribution to autoimmunity in the pancreas during autoimmune insulitis and
in SG during autoimmune sialoadenitis. In this PhD project, I used the NOD mouse model of T1D
and SS in order to investigate i) the cellular and molecular mechanisms regulating ELS formation,
ii) the functionality of ELS in supporting in situ autoreactive B cell differentiation and iii) the
relationship between formation of ELS and the expression of REG genes.
In this work I showed that ELS formation was preceded by local up-regulation of lymphotoxins
(LTαβ) and lymphoid chemokines CXCL13 and CCL19 and that, once formed, ELS were fully
functional in promoting autoreactive B cell activation. Importantly, inhibition of the LT-β pathway
prevented the formation of ELS and B cell autoimmunity. Finally, I showed that the expression
pattern of Reg genes was strictly related to the development of inflammatory infiltrates in NOD
7
mice and that Reg proteins were target of the autoimmune process itself, as shown by the
development of anti-Reg1 antibodies in patients with T1D. Overall, these results suggest that the
processes of destruction and regeneration occurring in chronic autoimmune/inflammatory diseases
are strongly interdependent whereby autoimmunity may be further enhanced by the attempt to
regenerate
Keeping Up with the Neighbours: Canadian Responses to 9/11 in Historical and Comparative Context
No full textThe impact of 9/11 on Canada is assessed in historical context, in relation to the coming of the Cold War in the 1940s and the October 1970 Le Front de Liberation du Quebec terrorist crisis in Quebec. Canadian policy responses to 9/11 are then considered in the comparative context of responses from Canada\u27s closest neighbours, the United States and the United Kingdom. Although to some degree, Canada can be seen to be trying to \u27keep up with the neighbours\u27, Canadian responses are more determined by specifically Canadian requirements, especially the need to protect Canadian sovereignty and economic security from the unintended consequences of American actions
Fighting the Cold War on the Home Front: America, Britain, Australia and Canada
No full textThe decade following World War II was the formative period of post-war alignment in international relations, the point of congealment for the Cold War. There is a vast literature on the international aspects of the events of this decade. Yet one of the striking characteristics of this era was domestic: \u27a tightening of controls within the capitalist and communist camps, a construction of military blocs, a repression of those suspected of sympathies for the other side (persecution of Titoistsin Eastern Europe, McCarthyism in the USA)\u27.\u27 This process of internal political repression was an element in the primordial division of the post-war world into two armed and relatively disciplined camps. It also had profound implications for the politics of the countries involved. The sharpening of ideological conflict and the deployment of coercion to consolidate a quasi-wartime national \u27consensus\u27 could not leave unmarked the practice of pluralist and competitive politics in capitalist democracies. It was in the United States, the leader and organiser of the Western bloc, where the impact of McCarthyism on liberal democratic practices was most evident. As a consequence, there is a large literature, often of high quality, on the domestic impact of the Cold War on the USA. There is, however, very little written about the domestic impact on the other English-speaking countries, where the lesser public impression of McCarthyism has generally been taken as notice of its absence. Yet the Cold War was launched in other Western nations allied to the US. The domestic implantation of the Cold War obviously differs according to the specific conditions of individual countries. The American variant-McCarthyism-has no privileged status as a model by which other countries must be judged
Refugee Policy after September 11: Not Much New
No full textConventional wisdom holds that the terrorist attacks of September 11 have “changed everything.” In the case of refugee policy, it would appear the salience of security and enforcement aspects has increased at the expense of human rights and humanitarian concerns. In the light of actual practices in the immigration and refugee security field in recent years, there is actually more continuity than discontinuity resulting from the current crisis. Existing standards and procedures are confirmed, rather than altered, by new legislation and practices. Refugee policies have increasingly been understood within a national security discourse, well before September 11.La sagesse traditionnelle prétend que les attentats terroristes du 11 septembre ont « tout changé ». Pour ce qui est de la politique ayant trait aux réfugiés, il semblerait que les considérations de sécurité et d’application de la loi ont pris le pas sur les droits de la personne et les préoccupations humanitaires. En fait, si l’on considère la pratique sur le terrain en ce qu’il s’agit des mesures de sécurité liées à l’immigration et aux réfugiés, on retrouve bien plus de continuité que de discontinuité à la suite de la crise actuelle. La nouvelle législation, ainsi que les nouvelles procédures, confirment les normes existantes plutôt que de les changer. Les politiques concernant les réfugiés sont de plus en plus comprises à l’intérieur d’un discours de sécurité nationale et cela était le cas bien avant le 11 septembre
- …
