Particular Contribution (particular + contribution)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


User involvement, research and health inequalities: developing new directions

HEALTH & SOCIAL CARE IN THE COMMUNITY, Issue 4 2007
Peter Beresford BA(Hons) PhD FRSA AcSS DipWP
Abstract Placed in the context of broader discussions and developments about service user involvement in research and evaluation, this paper looks at the role that user involvement research may play in health inequalities research. It examines the pressures for and against such user involvement research, its different expressions and ideological relations, and what particular contribution it may have to offer in researching health inequalities. In considering how it may help in developing substantive understandings of these issues and the role it may play in the future, particular attention is paid to the issue of enabling the diverse involvement of service users in order not to reinforce existing exclusions and barriers in research, policy and practice. [source]


Effects of proinflammatory cytokines on rat organic anion transporters during toxic liver injury and cholestasis

HEPATOLOGY, Issue 2 2003
Andreas Geier M.D.
Hepatobiliary transporters are down-regulated in toxic and cholestatic liver injury. Cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor , (TNF-,) and interleukin 1, (IL-1,) are attributed to mediate this regulation, but their particular contribution in vivo is still unknown. Thus, we studied the molecular mechanisms by which Ntcp, Oatp1, Oatp2, and Mrp2 are regulated by proinflammatory cytokines during liver injury. Rats were injected intraperitoneally with either carbon tetrachloride or endotoxin. Inactivation of TNF-, and IL-1, was achieved by repetitive intraperitoneal injection of etanercept and anakinra, respectively. Messenger RNA (mRNA) levels of transporters and binding activities as well as nuclear protein levels of Ntcp, Oatp2, and Mrp2 transactivators were determined 20 to 24 hours later. In contrast to IL-1,, TNF-, inactivation alone fully prevented down-regulation of Ntcp, Oatp1, and Oatp2 mRNA as well as reduced binding activity of hepatocyte nuclear factor 1 (HNF-1) in CCl4 -induced toxic injury. In endotoxemia, down-regulation of Mrp2, and partially in case of Ntcp, could be prevented by IL-1, but not TNF-, blockade. However, inactivation of either cytokine led to preservation of HNF1 and partially of retinoid X receptor/retinoic acid receptor (RXR/RAR) binding activity. No effect of anticytokines was seen on pregnane X receptor (PXR) and constitutive androstane receptor (CAR) binding activity as well as nuclear protein mass. In conclusion, TNF-, represents the master cytokine responsible for HNF1-dependent down-regulation of Ntcp, Oatp1, and Oatp2 in CCl4 -induced toxic liver injury. IL-1, predominates in a complex signaling network of Ntcp and Mrp2 regulation in cholestatic liver injury. In contrast to in vitro studies, HNF1 and RXR/RAR-independent mechanisms appear to be more important in regulation of Mrp2 and Ntcp gene expression in endotoxemia. [source]


United Nations "Policy": An Argument with Three Illustrations

INTERNATIONAL STUDIES PERSPECTIVES, Issue 1 2009
Ramesh Thakur
This article explores whether and in what sense there is a "United Nations policy," a topic unexplored in the literature. The UN's universal character provides legitimacy, a precious asset in formulating global public policy. It is thus the forum of choice for regime negotiation and norm promotion for contested contemporary challenges, reflecting its comparative advantage and its unique ability to formulate policies that aspire to universal application and relevance. This essay explores the UN's particular contribution to global problem solving for terrorism, sustainability, and controlling pandemics in order to show, through these three illustrations, how the United Nations contributes to the advance or retreat of global governance. [source]


Thomas Kuhn und die Wissenschaftsgeschichte,

BERICHTE ZUR WISSENSCHAFTSGESCHICHTE, Issue 1 2001
Prof. Dr. Paul Hoyningen-Huene
Abstract The article discusses Thomas S. Kuhn's impact on the history of science, especially in the United States of America. First, the state of the history of science in the fifties is sketched. Second, Kuhn's particular contribution to the emerging new historiography of science is presented. Third, Kuhn's role in the m-stitutionalization of the history of science in the USA is considered. Finally, some remarks are made on the relation between Kuhn's historiographic work and his book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. [source]


Enduring, ephemeral and emerging issues in public administration in Canada: Trends in Canadian Public Administration over fifty years (1958,2007)

CANADIAN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION/ADMINISTRATION PUBLIQUE DU CANADA, Issue 4 2007
Barbara Wake Carroll
It is the 50th anniversary issue of the Journal, and it is the last issue to be published by the Institute of Public Administration of Canada. For this issue, we have not produced a "special issue" in the sense of commissioning particular articles. Instead, we have brought together a number of articles that were already in the "pipeline" but that the editors thought made a particular contribution to public administration in Canada. This introductory article, or editor's review, is a retrospective analysis of the content of the Journal. It would appear that while there has been a slight shift towards public policy and a greater concern with provincial and local administration, cpa has maintained an enduring interest in its core areas of administrative theory and political and legal institutions. The content is also compared with findings of the content of other journals and also other analyses of cpa. This review is followed by commentaries by former editors and associate editors on their experiences with the Journal. [source]