Reflexivity, Scientificity and the Sociology of Religion: Pierre Bourdieu in Debate

This paper explores the relevance of Pierre Bourdieu’s ‘epistemic reflexivity’ for the sociology of religion, in particular by examining his neglected address to the French Association for the Sociology of Religion in 1982. Whilst sociologists of religion have addressed some issues of reflexivity in their practice, less attention has been paid to the crucial scientific requirement, highlighted by Bourdieu, to break from the ‘illusio’ of that field and thus avoid alignments with positions taken by religious actors themselves. As a result, many sociologists inevitably participate in religious contestations and stakes, whether or not they affirm or deny their own religious identification with those they study. Although Bourdieu’s address was a response to a particular national and historical form of the sociology of religion, we argue that it retains much significance today and may lead to fruitful debate within the discipline.

Primitive living chitons: Morphological cladistic analysis as a model for character evaluation

Chitons are often referred to as “living fossils” in part because they are proposed as one of the earliest-diverging groups of living molluscs, but also because the gross morphology of the polyplacophoran shell has been conserved for hundreds of millions of years. As such, the analysis of evolution and radiation within polyplacophorans is of considerable interest not only for resolving the shape of pan-molluscan phylogeny but also as model organisms for the study of character evolution. This study presents a new, rigorous cladistic analysis of the morphological characters used in taxonomic descriptions for chitons in the living suborder Lepidopleurina Thiele, 1910 (the earliest-derived living group of chitons). Shell-based characters alone entirely fail to recover any recognized subdivisions within the group, which may raise serious questions about the application of fossil data (from isolated shell valves). New analysis including characters from girdle armature and gill arrangements recovers some genera within the group but also points to the lack of monophyly within the main genus Leptochiton Gray, 1847. Additional characters from molecular data and soft anatomy, used in combination, are clearly needed to resolve questions of chiton relationships. However, the data sets currently available already provide interesting insights into the analytical power of traditional morphology as well as some knowledge about the early evolution and radiation of this group.

Secularism and Religion in Nineteenth-Century Germany: The Rise of the Fourth Confession

Negotiating the boundaries of the secular and of the religious is a core aspect of modern experience. In mid-nineteenth-century Germany, secularism emerged to oppose church establishment, conservative orthodoxy, and national division between Catholics, Protestants, and Jews. Yet, as historian Todd H. Weir argues in this provocative book, early secularism was not the opposite of religion. It developed in the rationalist dissent of Free Religion and, even as secularism took more atheistic forms in Freethought and Monism, it was subject to the forces of the confessional system it sought to dismantle. Similar to its religious competitors, it elaborated a clear worldview, sustained social milieus, and was integrated into the political system. Secularism was, in many ways, Germany's fourth confession. While challenging assumptions about the causes and course of the Kulturkampf and modern antisemitism, this study casts new light on the history of popular science, radical politics, and social reform.

Bortezomib induces apoptosis in primitive chronic myeloid leukemia cells including LTC-IC and NOD/SCID repopulating cells

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is treated effectively with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs); however, 2 key problems remain-the insensitivity of CML stem and progenitor cells to TKIs and the emergence of TKI-resistant BCR-ABL mutations. BCR-ABL activity is associated with increased proteasome activity and proteasome inhibitors (PIs) are cytotoxic against CML cell lines. We demonstrate that bortezomib is antiproliferative and induces apoptosis in chronic phase (CP) CD34(+) CML cells at clinically achievable concentrations. We also show that bortezomib targets primitive CML cells, with effects on CD34(+)38(-), long-term culture-initiating (LTC-IC) and nonobese diabetic/severe combined immunodeficient (NOD/SCID) repopulating cells. Bortezomib is not selective for CML cells and induces apoptosis in normal CD34(+)38(-) cells. The effects against CML cells are seen when bortezomib is used alone and in combination with dasatinib. Bortezomib causes proteasome but not BCR-ABL inhibition and is also effective in inhibiting proteasome activity and inducing apoptosis in cell lines expressing BCR-ABL mutations, including T315I. By targeting both TKI-insensitive stem and progenitor cells and TKI-resistant BCR-ABL mutations, we believe that bortezomib offers a potential therapeutic option in CML. Because of known toxicities, including myelosuppression, the likely initial clinical application of bortezomib in CML would be in resistant and advanced disease. (Blood. 2010;115:2241-2250)