In the name of democracy: Disobedience and value-oriented citizenship

Recently, some scholars have highlighted a paradoxical phenomenon existing in democratic systems:Those people who show the greatest support for democracy are also those most willing to protestagainst the authority and to question it. However, if we consider the tasks of contemporary democraticcitizenship in a social-psychological perspective, this apparent paradox becomes understandable.Obedience to authority may ensure the continuity of social and group life, but disobedience may becrucial in stopping the authority relationship from degenerating into an authoritarian one. FollowingKelman and Hamilton's analysis of legitimacy dynamics, we consider how actions of disobediencemay serve the defence of democracy. In particular, by considering the different ways in which peoplerelate to the political system, the relevance of so-called value-oriented citizens in supportingdemocracy will be considered.

SCAP is required for timely and proper myelin membrane synthesis.

Myelination requires a massive increase in glial cell membrane synthesis. Here, we demonstrate that the acute phase of myelin lipid synthesis is regulated by sterol regulatory element-binding protein (SREBP) cleavage activation protein (SCAP), an activator of SREBPs. Deletion of SCAP in Schwann cells led to a loss of SREBP-mediated gene expression involving cholesterol and fatty acid synthesis. Schwann cell SCAP mutant mice show congenital hypomyelination and abnormal gait. Interestingly, aging SCAP mutant mice showed partial regain of function; they exhibited improved gait and produced small amounts of myelin indicating a slow SCAP-independent uptake of external lipids. Accordingly, extracellular lipoproteins partially rescued myelination by SCAP mutant Schwann cells. However, SCAP mutant myelin never reached normal thickness and had biophysical abnormalities concordant with abnormal lipid composition. These data demonstrate that SCAP-mediated regulation of glial lipogenesis is key to the proper synthesis of myelin membrane, and provide insight into abnormal Schwann cell function under conditions affecting lipid metabolism.

NKT cells: what's in a name?

Recent years have seen so-called natural killer T (NKT) cells emerge as important regulators of the immune response. The existence of NKT-cell subsets, and other types of T cell that resemble NKT cells, is an ongoing source of confusion in the literature. This perspective article seeks to clarify which cells fall under the NKT-cell umbrella, and which might be best considered as separate.

Antibacterial and antifungal activity of extracts and exudates of the Amazonian medicinal tree Himatanthus articulatus (Vahl) Woodson (common name: sucuba)

Himatanthus articulatus (Vahl) Woodson is a tree found in the northern Amazon savannahs (common name: sucuba) that is used in local Amerindian medicine. Leaf, bark and branch wood methanol extracts, sequentially obtained hexane, ethyl acetate and methanol extracts and latex were evaluated for antifungal and antibacterial activities against American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) and local clinical strains using the disc diffusion method. Methanol extracts and latex inhibited Candida albicans, leaf methanol extracts inhibited Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis and bark methanol extracts inhibited B. subtilis. Active extracts inhibited the ATCC and clinical strains. Polar antifungal and antibacterial principles in latex and extracts are thought to be responsible for the inhibition.

Iron deficiency and anaemia in bariatric surgical patients: causes, diagnosis and proper management

Obesity-induced chronic inflammation leads to activation of the immune system that causes alterations of iron homeostasis including hypoferraemia, iron-restricted erythropoiesis, and finally mild-to-moderate anaemia. Thus, preoperative anaemia and iron deficiency are common among obese patients scheduled for bariatric surgery (BS). Assessment of patients should include a complete haematological and biochemical laboratory work-up, including measurement of iron stores, vitamin B12 and folate. In addition, gastrointestinal evaluation is recommended for most patients with iron-deficiency anaemia. On the other hand, BS is a long-lasting inflammatory stimulus in itself and entails a reduction of the gastric capacity and/or exclusion from the gastrointestinal tract which impair nutrients absorption, including dietary iron. Chronic gastrointestinal blood loss and iron-losingenteropathy may also contribute to iron deficiency after BS. Perioperative anaemia has been linked to increased postoperative morbidity and mortality and decreased quality of life after major surgery, whereas treatment of perioperative anaemia, and even haematinic deficiency without anaemia, has been shown to improve patient outcomes and quality of life. However, long-term follow-up data in regard to prevalence, severity, and causes of anaemia after BS are mostly absent. Iron supplements should be administered to patients after BS, but compliance with oral iron is no good. In addition, once iron deficiency has developed, it may prove refractory to oral treatment. In these situations, IV iron (which can circumvent the iron blockade at enterocytes and macrophages) has emerged as a safe and effective alternative for perioperative anaemia management. Monitoring should continue indefinitely even after the initial iron repletion and anaemia resolution, and maintenance IV iron treatment should be provided as required. New IV preparations, such ferric carboxymaltose, are safe, easy to use and up to 1000 mg can be given in a single session, thus providing an excellent tool to avoid or treat iron deficiency in this patient population.

Tapia's syndrome: pathogenetic mechanisms, diagnostic management, and proper treatment: a case series.

BACKGROUND Tapia's syndrome is an uncommon disease described in 1904 by Antonio Garcia Tapia, a Spanish otolaryngologist. It is characterized by concomitant paralysis of the hypoglossal (XIIth) and pneumogastric (Xth) nerves. Only 69 cases have been described in the literature. Typically, the reported patients presented with a history of orotracheal intubation. Common symptoms are dysphonia, tongue deviation toward the affected side, lingual motility disturbance, and swallowing difficulty. CASE PRESENTATION In the report, we describe three cases of Tapia's syndrome in three Caucasian patients who underwent surgery with general anesthesia. Two of these patients underwent neck abscess drainage, and the third had an open reduction of a shoulder fracture. The clinical symptoms of Tapia's syndrome appeared after extubation. All three of our patients recovered their lost function at 3 months after diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS We underline the importance of performing airway endoscopy and a specific program of swallowing rehabilitation for the proper management of Tapia's syndrome.

Kuranishi type Moduli Spaces for proper CR submersions fibering over the circle

Kuranishi's fundamental result (1962) associates to any compact complex manifold X&sub&0&/sub& a finite-dimensional analytic space which has to be thought of as a local moduli space of complex structures close to X&sub&0&/sub&. In this paper, we give an analogous statement for Levi-flat CR manifolds fibering properly over the circle by describing explicitely an infinite-dimensional Kuranishi type local moduli space of Levi-flat CR structures. We interpret this result in terms of Kodaira-Spencer deformation theory making clear the likenesses as well as the differences with the classical case. The article ends with applications and examples.

Proper Gluing of Wood, May 1988

Bonding of wood with glue dates back to ancient times but has increased enormously over the past decades. This 2 page report explains the proper way to glue wood.

Disteniinae Thomson (Insecta, Coleoptera): a protected name

The name "Cométites" Blanchard, 1845 (= Cometinae) is considered nomen oblitum, and "Distenitae" Thomson, 1861 (=Disteniinae), nomen protectum, under the provisions of the Article 23.9 of the ICZN. Disteniinae is hereafter used as a valid family-group name.

A new replacement name for Brethesia Maia (Diptera, Cecidomyiidae)

A new replacement name for Brethesia Maia (Diptera, Cecidomyiidae). Brethesiamyia nom. nov. is proposed for Brethesia Maia, 2009 (Diptera, Cecidomyiidae) preocc. Brethesia Schrottky, 1909 (Hymenoptera).

A new name for the Neotropical genus Aniarella Enderlein (Diptera, Sciaridae)

A new name for the Neotropical genus Aniarella Enderlein (Diptera, Sciaridae). A junior homonym was detected among neotropical sciarid flies genera and the following replacement name is proposed: Novaniarella nom. nov. for Aniarella Enderlein, 1911 (nec Bolivar, 1906). Accordingly, new combinations are herein proposed for the species currently included in this genus: Novaniarella azteca (Lane, 1959) comb. nov., Novaniarella brevis (Rubsaamen, 1894) comb. nov. and Novaniarella pelluscens (Enderlein, 1911) comb. nov.

A replacement name for Hualpenia Mundaca, Parra & Vargas (Lepidoptera, Gracillariidae)

A replacement name for Hualpenia Mundaca, Parra & Vargas (Lepidoptera, Gracillariidae). Vihualpenia nom. nov. is proposed as a replacement name for Hualpenia Mundaca, Parra & Vargas, 2013 (Lepidoptera, Gracillariidae), in order to remove homonymy with Hualpenia Franz, 1996 (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae).