Search

In recent years, scholars of nationalism have brought renewed focus on political and cultural conceptions of nationhood and citizenship. Drawing on this literature, namely the idea of citizenship regime types, I develop a macro-theoretical framework for understanding cross-national variations in tolerance levels toward ethnic minorities and immigrants. Specifically, I hypothesize that nation-states with more exclusive legal and cultural conceptions of citizenship will have lower aggregate levels of both political and social tolerance. Employing empirical data from a 1997 Eurobarometer survey, I then systematically test the framework, as well as competing explanations, for all member states of the European Union. The results confirm the hypotheses and indicate a strong and significant relationship between citizenship regime type and native populations' tolerance of ethnic minorities and immigrants.

Introduction Epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs) are cytochrome P450 (CYP) epoxygenase metabolites of arachidonic acid (AA); potent intracellular lipid signaling molecules that exist as 4 regioisomeric metabolites: 5,6-, 8,9-, 11,12-, and 14,15-EETs [...], Epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs) are active metabolites of arachidonic acid that are inactivated by soluble epoxide hydrolase enzyme (sEH) to dihydroxyeicosatrienoic acid. EETs are known to render cardioprotection against ischemia reperfusion (IR) injury by maintaining mitochondrial function. We investigated the effect of a novel sEH inhibitor (sEHi) in limiting IR injury. Mouse hearts were perfused in Langendorff mode for 40 min and subjected to 20 min of global no-flow ischemia followed by 40 min of reperfusion. Hearts were perfused with 0.0, 0.1, 1.0 and 10.0 µmol-[L.sup.-1] of the sEHi N-(2chloro-4-methanesulfonyl-benzyl)-6-(2,2,2-trifluoro-ethoxy)-nicotinamide (BI00611953). Inhibition of sEH by BI00611953 significantly improved postischemic left-ventricular-developed pressure and reduced infarct size following IR compared with control hearts, and similar to hearts perfused with 11,12-EETs (1 µmol*[L.sup.-1]) and sE[H.sup.-/-] mice. Perfusion with the putative EET receptor antagonist 14,15-epoxyeicosa-5(Z)-enoic acid (14,15-EEZE, 10 µmol*[L.sup.-1),] or the plasma membrane [K.sub.ATP] channels (pm[K.sub.ATP)] inhibitor (glibenclamide, 10 µmol*[L.sup.-1)] abolished the improved recovery by BI00611953 (1 µmol*[L.sup.-1]). Mechanistic studies in H9c2 cells demonstrated that BI0611953 decreased ROS generation, caspase-3 activity, proteasome activity, increased HIF-1[varies] DNA binding, and delayed the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (Δ[Ψ.sub.m]) caused by anoxia-reoxygenation. Together, our data demonstrate that the novel sEHi BI00611953, a nicotinamide-based compound, provides significant cardioprotection against ischemia reperfusion injury. Key words: epoxyeicosatrienoic acid, soluble epoxide hydrolase, ischemia-reperfusion, pm[K.sub.ATP] channels and sEH inhibitors. Les acides epoxyeicosatrienoiques (EET) sont des metabolites actifs de l'acide arachidonique qui sont inactives par l'epoxyde hydrolase soluble (sEH) en acide dihydroxyeicosatrienoi'que. Les EET sont connus pour conferer une cardioprotection contre les dommages causes par l'ischemie reperfusion (IR) en maintenant la fonction mitochondriale. Nous avons examine l'effet d'un nouvel inhibiteur de la sEH (sEHi) sur le controle du dommage cause par l'IR. Des coeurs de souris ont ete perfuses dans le systeme de Langendorff pendant 40 min et soumis a une ischemie statique globale de 20 min, suivie d'une reperfusion de 40 min. Les coeurs ont ete perfuses avec le sEHi, le BI00611953 (N-(2-chloro-4-methanesulfonyl-benzyl)-6(2,2,2-trifluoro-ethoxy)-nicotinamide) (0, 0,1, 1,0, et 10,0 µmol*[L.sup.-1]). L'inhibition de la sEH par le BI00611953 ameliorait significativement la pression ventriculaire gauche post-ischemique et reduisait la taille de l'infarctus apres l'IR comparativement aux coeurs controles et similairement aux coeurs perfuses avec des 11,12-EET (1 µmol*[L.sup.-1]) et aux souris sE[H.sup.-/-]. La perfusion avec un antagoniste presume du recepteur des EET, l'acide 14,15-epoxyei'cosa-5(Z)-enoi'que (14,15-EEZE, 10 µmol*[L.sup.-1]), ou avec un inhibiteur des canaux KATP de la membrane plasmique (pm[K.sub.ATP)] (glibenclamide, 10 µmol*[L.sup.-1]) supprimait l'amelioration de la recuperation induite par le BI00611593. Des etudes mecanistiques realisees chez les cellules H9c2 ont demontre que le BI00611593 diminuait la generation d'ERO, la caspase-3 et l'activite du proteasome, augmentait la liaison du HIF-1 a l'ADN, et retardait la perte de potentiel membranaire mitochondrial (Δ[Ψ.sub.m]) causee par l'anoxie-reoxygenation. L'ensemble de ces donnees demontre que ce nouvel sEHi, le BI00611953, un compose a base de nicotinamide, confere une cardioprotection significative contre les dommages causes par l' ischemie reperfusion Mots-cles : acide epoxyei'cosatrienoi'que, epoxyde hydrolase soluble, ischemie-reperfusion, canaux pm[K.sub.ATP,] inhibiteurs de la sEH.

An unprecedented cross-national array of public opinion data that describes current images of political parties that were assembled is discussed. It is demonstrated that how distrust of parties decreases voting turnout, contributes to the fragmentation of contemporary party systems and the electrol base of new protest parties and also stimulates broader cynicism in view of the government.

(Wiesbaden: Westdeutscher Verlag GmbH, 2000) Party scholars have long theorized about the nature of party organizational change and how organization affects linkages between parties and citizens. While theories of party [...]

Gerhard Hirscher and Karl-Rudolf Korte, eds., Information und Entscheidung: Kommunikationsmanagement der Politisichen Fuhrung (Wiesbaden: Westdeutscher Verlag GmbH, 2003) Public policy-making in advanced industrial democracies is an extremely complex process, requiring [...]

THE SOURCE: "Public Images of Political Parties: A Necessary Evil?" by Russell J. Dalton and Steven A. Weldon, in West European Politics, Nov. 2005. WHAT'S WIDELY CONSIDERED ESSENTIAL to representative […]

Activation of the thick ascending limb (TAL) Na+-K+-2Cl- cotransporter (NKCC2) by the antidiuretic hormone arginine vasopressin (AVP) is an essential mechanism of renal urine concentration and contributes to extracellular fluid and electrolyte homeostasis. AVP effects in the kidney are modulated by locally and/or by systemically produced epoxyeicosatrienoic acid derivates (EET). The relation between AVP and EET metabolism has not been determined. Here, we show that chronic treatment of AVP-deficient Brattleboro rats with the AVP V2 receptor analog desmopressin (dDAVP; 5 ng/h, 3 days) significantly lowered renal EET levels (-56 ± 3% for 5,6-EET, -50 ± 3.4% for 11,12-EET, and -60 ± 3.7% for 14,15-EET). The abundance of the principal EET-degrading enzyme soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) was increased at the mRNA (+160 ± 37%) and protein levels (+120 ± 26%). Immunohistochemistry revealed dDAVP-mediated induction of sEH in connecting tubules and cortical and medullary collecting ducts, suggesting a role of these segments in the regulation of local interstitial EET signals. Incubation of murine kidney cell suspensions with 1 μM 14,15- EET for 30 min reduced phosphorylation of NKCC2 at the AVPsensitive threonine residues T96 and T101 (-66 ± 5%; P < 0.05), while 14,15-DHET had no effect. Concomitantly, isolated perfused cortical thick ascending limb pretreated with 14,15-EET showed a 30% lower transport current under high and a 70% lower transport current under low symmetric chloride concentrations. In summary, we have shown that activation of AVP signaling stimulates renal sEH biosynthesis and enzyme activity. The resulting reduction of EET tissue levels may be instrumental for increased NKCC2 transport activity during AVP-induced antidiuresis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]