Virtue, Law and Mercy

The attribution of responsibility in world society is increasingly a field of contestation. On the one hand, the perception of causal and moral links reaching far in space and time are ever more explicitly pronounced; on the other hand, the very complexity of these links often engenders a fragmentation of responsibility both in law (Veitch 2007) as well as in moral commitment. Moreover, those institutions of legal responsibility attempting to reflect some of these interrelations are often criticised as insufficient by those who follow alternative narratives of causation and moral community. Current institutions of responsibility in law appear to abstract from what could be called enabling contexts; they perform their cuts in the chains of enabling interactions at very brief intervals (Strathern 2001). The result is often “organised irresponsibility” (Veitch 2007; Beck 1996), producing appeals to a global community of concern in time and space without corresponding obligatory commitments. This talk explores alternative conceptualisations of responsibility, and enquires into their notion of the person, their temporal and socio-spatial dimensions, and their notion of liability.

Die laesio enormis und der dolus re ipsa heute: die Verschuldensfrage

The mediaeval interpreters of Roman law have worked out the dolus re ipsa-concept to explain the mysterious laesio enormis (C. 4.44.2 [a. 285]). The inequality in exchange has been supposed then to be a result of malicious undertaking, for which paradoxically, no one was personally liable (Ulp. 45 ad Sab. D. 45.1.36). In course of time, the incorporation of laesio enormis into the scheme of dolus turned into a presumption of a malicious act on the part of the enriched party, even though, the laesio enormis is free from subjective criteria. It is astonishing how little the dolus re ipsa is discussed, although the modern paradigm for correcting inequality in exchange is based on same assumptions. This ‘Wiederkehr der Rechtsfigur’ certainly deserves more attention.

Overcoming Liability of Newness through Socialization : How Legitimation Strategies of a New Venture evolve

Liability of newness, the tendency of new ventures to die early after market entry, results from lacking legitimacy in their new cultural context and according failure to acquire resources. Based on a longitudinal case study on repeated resource acquisition attempts of a new venture, we found that overcoming liability of newness depended on the socialization of the new venture to the normative environment on which it depended on for resources. Over time and across repeated resource acquisition attempts, socialization - the process of learning the use of legitimate symbols and their culturally contingent meanings - enabled the new venture to become the skillful cultural operator on which legitimation and resource acquisition was contingent. From our data, 'Accumulating a repertoire of legitimate symbols' and 'Assimilating the evaluations of resource-holders' emerged as the two primary mechanisms for new venture socialization. The study's contributions to related literature and its broader theoretical implications are discussed

A search for activation of C nociceptors by sympathetic fibers in complex regional pain syndrome

Although the term 'reflex sympathetic dystrophy' has been replaced by 'complex regional pain syndrome' (CRPS) type I, there remains a widespread presumption that the sympathetic nervous system is actively involved in mediating chronic neuropathic pain ["sympathetically maintained pain" (SMP)], even in the absence of detectable neuropathophysiology.

Maintenance of skills, competencies, and performance in allergy and clinical immunology: time to lay the foundation for a universal approach

Allergist/clinical immunologist maintenance of certification and training program reaccreditation are mandatory in some countries. The World Allergy Organization conducted surveys in 2009 and 2011 to assess where such programs were available and to promote the establishment of such programs on a global level. This was done with the presumption that after such an "inventory," World Allergy Organization could offer guidance to its Member Societies on the promotion of such programs to assure the highest standards of practice in the field of allergy and clinical immunology. This review draws on the experience of countries where successful programs are in place and makes recommendations for those wishing to implement such programs for the specialty.

Polymer stent coating for prevention of neointimal hyperplasia

AIMS: Restenosis has been the principal limitation of bare metal stents. Based upon the presumption that platelet and inflammatory cell recruitment initiate neointimal proliferation, we explored a novel polymer coating that reduces cell-stent interactions. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of poly(L-lysine)-graft-poly(ethyleneglycol) (PLL-g-PEG) adsorbed to stent surfaces to reduce neointimal hyperplasia in the porcine restenosis model. METHODS AND RESULTS: Seven animals were instrumented each with 2 stainless steel stents (15 mm length, 2.5-3.5 mm diameter), randomly implanted in 1 major epicardial coronary artery. One stent was dip-coated with PLL-g-PEG, whereas the other stent served as the uncoated control stent. All animals were sacrificed after 6 weeks for histological examination. Neointimal hyperplasia was significantly less (-51%) in the PLL-g-PEG-coated stents (1.15 +/- 0.59 mm2) than in the uncoated control stents (2.33 +/- 1.01 mm2; p < 0.001). Conversely, lumen size was larger in the PLL-g-PEG-coated stents (2.91 +/- 1.17 mm2) than in the uncoated stents (2.04 +/- 0.64 mm2; p < 0.001). High magnification histomorphologic examination revealed no signs of inflammation or thrombus formation in either stent group. CONCLUSIONS: Polymeric steric stabilization of stents with PLL-g-PEG significantly reduces neointimal hyperplasia in the porcine restenosis model. Reduction of cell-stent interactions mediated by PLL-g-PEG appear to improve biocompatibility of stainless steel stents without evidence of adverse inflammatory or prothrombotic effects.

Immunocompetence of nestling great tits in relation to rearing environment and parentage

Theoretical models of host-parasite coevolution assume a partially genetic basis to the variability in susceptibility to parasites among hosts, for instance as a result of genetic variation in immune function. However, few empirical data exist for free-living vertebrate hosts to support this presumption. In a cross-fostering experiment with nestling great tits, by comparing nestlings of the same origin we investigated (i) the variance in host resistance against an ectoparasite due to a common genetic origin, (ii) the effect of ectoparasite infestation on cell-mediated immunity and (iii) the variance in cell-mediated immunity due to a common genetic origin. Ectoparasitic hen fleas can impair the growth of nestling great tits and nestling growth was therefore taken as a measure of host susceptibility. A common origin did not account for a significant part of the variation in host susceptibility to fleas. There was no significant overall effect of fleas on nestling growth or cell-mediated immunity, as assessed by a cutaneous hypersensitivity response. A common rearing environment explained a significant part of the variation in cell-mediated immunity among nestlings, mainly through its effect on nestling body mass. The variation in cell-mediated immunity was also related to a common origin. However, the origin-related variation in body mass did not account for the origin-related differences in cell-mediated immunity. The results of the present study thus suggest heritable variation in cell-mediated immunity among nestling great tits. [References: 49]

Inheritance of equine sarcoid disease in Franches-Montagnes horses.

The mode of inheritance for susceptibility to equine sarcoid disease (ES) remains unknown. The objectives of this study were to analyse a large sample of the Franches-Montagnes (FM) horse population and investigate the heritability and mode of inheritance for susceptibility to ES. Horses were clinically examined for the presence of sarcoid tumours. A standardized examination protocol and client questionnaire were used and a pedigree- and subsequent segregation-analysis for the ES trait performed. To investigate the mode of inheritance, five models were evaluated and compared in a hierarchical way. The analyses reveal that variation in susceptibility to ES is best explained by a model incorporating polygenic variation. The possible effect of a major gene, such as specific equine leukocyte antigen alleles, is unlikely, but cannot be ruled-out entirely. The heritability of the phenotype on the observation scale for the trait 'affected with ES' was estimated to be 8%. A corrected value for the heritability on a liability scale was estimated at 21% and it is therefore possible to estimate breeding values for ES. The arguments against the practical implementation of an estimated breeding value in a multifactorial condition like ES are discussed.