Women, peace and security as an ASEAN priority

The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Secretariat and its member states have repeatedly professed their commitment to the protection and advancement of women’s economic and human rights. Such commitments have included the Declaration on the Advancement of Women in ASEAN in 1988, the ASEAN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women in 2004, and the ASEAN Declaration of Human Rights in 2012, as well as the establishment of the ASEAN Committee on Women in 2002 and the ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Women and Children in 2009. However, none of these regional commitments or institutions expressly take up the core concern of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda set out in United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 1325 in 2000. ASEAN has no 1325 regional action plan and amongst the ASEAN membership, the Philippines is the only state that has adopted a 1325 National Action Plan (NAP). We explore the possible reasons for lack of ASEAN institutional engagement with 1325, outline the case for regional engagement, and suggest specific roles for ASEAN Secretariat, donor governments and individual member states to commit to UNSCR 1325 as a regional priority.

Introduction : At the Intersection of Entrepreneurship and Human Resource Management

In recent years there has been a growing literature on human resource management (HRM) and smaller firms which has also encompassed firms that are growing and entrepreneurial. For example we have seen a special edition of Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice (Katz et al., 2000), two of Human Resource Management Review (Baron, 2003; Barrett and Mayson, 2006) and one of Human Resource Management (Huselid, 2003; Tansky and Heneman, 2003), with another of Human Resource Management (to be edited by Ribeiro, Roig and Tansky) scheduled for publication in 2010. In addition, symposia on the topic have been undertaken at the Academy of Management in 2005 (organized by Mayson) and in 2004 (organized by Hayton). Papers dealing with issues of HRM for new, small, growing and/or entrepreneurial firms have been presented at a range of different conferences, whether they are management oriented such as the Academy of Management (AoM) and its regional variants (for example, the British Academy of Management (BAM) or the Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management (ANZAM)), entrepreneurially focused ones like the Babson College Entrepreneurship Research conference or ones focused specifically on smaller firms such as the conferences of the Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (ISBE) in the UK or the International Council for Small Business (ICSB) and its regional affiliates. With all these papers and all this discussion is there anything left to say? Well yes, we think there is and we are...

Intramacrophage survival of uropathogenic Escherichia coli : differences between diverse clinical isolates and between mouse and human macrophages

Uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC) are the primary cause of urinary tract infections. Recent studies have demonstrated that UPEC can invade and replicate within epithelial cells, suggesting that this bacterial pathogen may occupy an intracellular niche within the host. Given that many intracellular pathogens target macrophages, we assessed the interactions between UPEC and macrophages. Colonization of the mouse bladder by UPEC strain CFT073 resulted in increased expression of myeloid-restricted genes, consistent with the recruitment of inflammatory macrophages to the site of infection. In in vitro assays, CFT073 was able to survive within primary mouse bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMM) up to 24 h post-infection. Three additional well-characterized clinical UPEC isolates associated with distinct UTI symptomatologies displayed variable long-term survival within BMM. UPEC strains UTI89 and VR50, originally isolated from patients with cystitis and asymptomatic bacteriuria respectively, showed elevated bacterial loads in BMM at 24 h post-infection as compared to CFT073 and the asymptomatic bacteriuria strain 83972. These differences did not correlate with differential effects on macrophage survival or initial uptake of bacteria. E. coli UTI89 localized to a Lamp1+ vesicular compartment within BMM. In contrast to survival within mouse BMM, intracellular bacterial loads of VR50 were low in both human monocyte-derived macrophages (HMDM) and in human T24 bladder epithelial cells. Collectively, these data suggest that some UPEC isolates may subvert macrophage anti-microbial pathways, and that host species differences may impact on intracellular UPEC survival.

UafB is a serine-rich repeat adhesin of Staphylococcus saprophyticus that mediates binding to fibronectin, fibrinogen and human uroepithelial cells

Staphylococcus saprophyticus is an important cause of urinary tract infection (UTI), particularly among young women, and is second only to uropathogenic Escherichia coli as the most frequent cause of UTI. The molecular mechanisms of urinary tract colonization by S. saprophyticus remain poorly understood. We have identified a novel 6.84 kb plasmid-located adhesin-encoding gene in S. saprophyticus strain MS1146 which we have termed uro-adherence factor B (uafB). UafB is a glycosylated serine-rich repeat protein that is expressed on the surface of S. saprophyticus MS1146. UafB also functions as a major cell surface hydrophobicity factor. To characterize the role of UafB we generated an isogenic uafB mutant in S. saprophyticus MS1146 by interruption with a group II intron. The uafB mutant had a significantly reduced ability to bind to fibronectin and fibrinogen. Furthermore, we show that a recombinant protein containing the putative binding domain of UafB binds specifically to fibronectin and fibrinogen. UafB was not involved in adhesion in a mouse model of UTI; however, we observed a striking UafB-mediated adhesion phenotype to human uroepithelial cells. We have also identified genes homologous to uafB in other staphylococci which, like uafB, appear to be located on transposable elements. Thus, our data indicate that UafB is a novel adhesin of S. saprophyticus that contributes to cell surface hydrophobicity, mediates adhesion to fibronectin and fibrinogen, and exhibits tropism for human uroepithelial cells.

Estrogen and the endometrium: lessons learned from gene expression profiling in rodents and human

To date, research into the biological processes and molecular mechanisms associated with endometrial receptivity and embryo implantation has been a focus of attention, whereas the complex events that occur in the human endometrium during the menstrual and proliferative phase under the influence of estrogen have received little attention. The objective of this review is to provide an update of our current understanding of the actions of estrogen on both human and rodent endometrium, with special emphasis on the regulation of uterine growth and cell proliferation, and the value of global gene expression analysis, in increasing understanding of these processes.

Paradigm shifts : global copyright politics and disability rights

Governments around the world need to take immediate coordinated action to reverse the 'book famine.' Disability rights don't conflict with 'normal exploitation' but copyright owners have been wary about all of the possible solutions to providing greater access. The Marrakesh Treaty promises to level out some of the disparity of access between people in developed and developing nations and remove the need for each jurisdiction to digitise a separate copy of each book. It is one of the only international agreements to mandate positive exceptions and may be the start of a pardigm shift in global copyright politics, made all the more remarkable in the face of heated opposition by global copyright industry representatives. It's not a legal problem, but one of political will. Resistance comes from a conflict with ideology: exceptions should be limited and international law should set only minimum standards.

DNA molecules and human therapeutics

Nucleic acid molecules are championing a new generation of reverse engineered biopharmaceuticals. In terms of potential application in gene medicine, plasmid DNA (pDNA) vectors have exceptional therapeutic and immunological profiles as they are free from safety concerns associated with viral vectors, display non-toxicity and are simpler to develop. This review addresses the potential applications of pDNA molecules in vaccine design/development and gene therapy via recombinant DNA technology as well as a staged delivery mechanism for the introduction of plasmid-borne gene to target cells via the nasal route.

Balancing the books : an assessment of financial stress associated with social work and human service student placements

This report presents the findings from a study of the financial impact of work-integrated learning commonly referred to as 'placement' among social work and human services students. Based on a survey of 214 respondants, 14 in-depth interviews and two focus groups, the findings indicate that two thirds of the surveyed group felt tired and anxious about their experience of balancing paid work and placement, with 2 in 5 reporting their learning experience was compromised as a result. The significant implications and potential solutions are also discussed.

The favelas through the lenses of photographers: Photojournalism from community and mainstream media organisations

Photographers from community and mainstream media organisations bring the everyday of favela communities to the attention of Rio de Janeiro’s society from different perspectives. While mainstream photojournalists mainly report on favelas from outside to inside, denouncing wrongdoings and human rights abuses, community photographers do it from the opposite direction, from inside to outside, presenting images of the everyday life of favela communities. This paper takes an ethnographic and discursive approach to comparing these two categories of photographers to ask how their different practices can yield benefits for the people living in marginalised communities. Furthermore, by adapting Foucault and Bourdieu’s theories, this study examines photographers’ habitus so as to determine how cultural capital and economic capital that they possess shape their subjectivity and, as such, the fields of community and mainstream photojournalism. This study has no intention of creating polarised distinctions between community and mainstream photojournalism. Instead, the research aims, through the investigation of the working practices, identities, and discourses of photographers from community and mainstream media organisations, to identify the activities and limitations of both community and mainstream in order to build an understanding about how the media ecology works best within both.

Impact of agricultural chemicals on the environment and human health in Asia: Are there solutions?

Modern commercial agricultural practices in Asia during the last three to four decades involving chemicals (fertilisers and pesticides) have been associated with large increases in food production never witnessed before, especially under the Green Revolution technology in South Asia. This also involves large-scale increases in commercial vegetable crops. However, the high reliance on chemical inputs to bring about these increases in food production is not without problems. A visible, parallel correlation between higher productivity, high artificial input use and environmental degradation and human ill-health is evident in many countries where commercial agriculture is widespread. In this chapter, we focus on the impact of chemical inputs, in particular the impact of pesticides on the environment and on human health in South Asia with special reference to Sri Lanka...

A humanized tissue-engineered in vivo model to dissect interactions between human prostate cancer cells and human bone

Currently used xenograft models for prostate cancer bone metastasis lack the adequate tissue composition necessary to study the interactions between human prostate cancer cells and the human bone microenvironment. We introduce a tissue engineering approach to explore the interactions between human tumor cells and a humanized bone microenvironment. Scaffolds, seeded with human primary osteoblasts in conjunction with BMP7, were implanted into immunodeficient mice to form humanized tissue engineered bone constructs (hTEBCs) which consequently resulted in the generation of highly vascularized and viable humanized bone. At 12 weeks, PC3 and LNCaP cells were injected into the hTEBCs. Seven weeks later the mice were euthanized. Micro-CT, histology, TRAP, PTHrP and osteocalcin staining results reflected the different characteristics of the two cell lines regarding their phenotypic growth pattern within bone. Microvessel density, as assessed by vWF staining, showed that tumor vessel density was significantly higher in LNCaP injected hTEBC implants than in those injected with PC3 cells (p\0.001). Interestingly, PC3 cells showed morphological features of epithelial and mesenchymal phenotypes suggesting a cellular plasticity within this microenvironment. Taken together, a highly reproducible humanized model was established which is successful in generating LNCaP and PC3 tumors within a complex humanized bone microenvironment. This model simulates the conditions seen clinically more closely than any other model described in the literature to date and hence represents a powerful experimental platform that can be used in future work to investigate specific biological questions relevant to bone metastasis.

Creative destruction: The Trans-Pacific Partnership, jobs, and labor rights

In the United States, there has been a fierce debate over the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), and its impact upon jobs, employment, and labor rights and standards. This sweeping trade agreement spans the Pacific Rim, and includes such countries as Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Brunei, and Japan. There has been concern over the secrecy surrounding the Trans-Pacific Partnership — particularly in respect of labor rights.

23andMe Inc.: Patent law and lifestyle genetics

The venture, 23andMe Inc., raises a host of issues in respect of patent law, policy, and practice in respect of lifestyle genetics and personalised medicine. The company observes: ‘We recognize that the availability of personal genetic information raises important issues at the nexus of ethics, law, and public policy’. 23andMe Inc. has tested the boundaries of patent law, with its patent applications, which cut across information technology, medicine, and biotechnology. The company’s research raises fundamental issues about patentability, especially in light of the litigation in Bilski v. Kappos, Mayo Collaborative Services v. Prometheus Laboratories Inc. and Association for Molecular Pathology v. United States Patent and Trademark Office and Myriad Genetics Inc. There has been much debate and controversy over 23andMe Inc. filing patent applications – particularly in respect of its granted patent on ‘Polymorphisms associated with Parkinson’s Disease’. The direct-to-consumer marketing of genetic testing by 23andMe Inc. has also raised important questions of bioethics and human rights. It is queried whether the terms of service for 23andMe Inc. provide adequate recognition of the concepts of informed consent and benefit-sharing, especially in light of litigation in this area in the United States. Given the patent thickets surrounding genetic testing, the case study of 23andMe Inc. also highlights questions about patent infringement and patent exceptions. The future reform of patent law, policy, and practice needs to take into account new developments in lifestyle genetics and personalised medicine – as exemplified by 23andMe Inc.

Post traumatic success: Positive psychology and solution-focused strategies to help clients survive and thrive

I am an academic who has spent a career using a strengths-based approach in researching ways to promote and maintain mental health in people who have experienced trauma. When I read the title of the book, the notion of “post traumatic success” immediately brought many questions to my mind. What is success anyway? How do we measure success following trauma? Who decides if a person has been successful? However, as I started to read, the intention of the book became clear and my bias regarding the title lessened...