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Presents a three‐level model to enable the design and conduct of an audit of training and development developed from the authors’ consultancy experience working with training and development managers and specialists from diverse medium and large organizations. Describes three levels ‐ event/programme, function and organization levels. Considerably extends the framework first described by one of the authors in an earlier article. This extended model permits the benchmarking of training and development against established best practice. Use of the model enables the identification of where an organization’s training and development can be considered successful and where challenges and opportunities for improvement exist.

HUVEC exposed to IL-1 alpha, TNF alpha or LPS showed a time dependent increase in E-selectin expression which was maximal at between 4-6h after stimulation. Stimulation of HUVEC with IL-1 alpha, TNF alpha or LPS for between 2 and 6h followed by removal or neutralisation of IL-1 alpha, TNF alpha or LPS and incubation in new media up to 6h resulted in identical levels of E-selectin expression at 6h, as cells which had been continuously stimulated for 6h with IL-1 alpha, TNF alpha or LPS. These studies demonstrated that HUVEC were committed to the induction of E-selectin following a 2 hr incubation with either IL-1 alpha, TNF alpha or LPS. The protein tyrosine kinase (PTK) inhibitors ST271, ST638 or genistein (0-100M) were ineffective in reducing cytokine or LPS stimulated E-selectin expression during a 2h cytokine or LPS stimulation of cells, in which inhibitors were either coincubated with cytokine/LPS or previously preincubated with the PTK inhibitors. However when PTK inhibitors were present during both agonist activation (2h) and subsequent expression of E-selectin after removal of agonist (4h) the PTK inhibitors resulted in a dose dependent reduction in both IL-1 alpha and LPS stimulated E-selectin expression (IC50 = 50M). Moreover when PTK inhibitors were only incubated with cells for the 4h after cytokine or LPS activation of cells, PTK inhibitors resulted in a more effective dose dependent reduction in IL-1 alpha or LPS stimulated E-selectin expression (IC50 = 10M). Determination of total and surface expressed E-selectin showed that the reduction in E-selectin expression represented a reduction in E-selectin protein and analysis of E-selectin mRNA by RT-PCR demonstrated that inhibition of E-selectin protein synthesis reflected reduced E-selectin mRNA. Other cytokine or LPS signalling pathways such as the activation of MAP-kinase (ERK-2) was unaffected by pre and coincubation with the PTK inhibitors. These studies suggest that HUVEC can become committed to the induction of E-selectin after removal of the stimulus and that protein tyrosine kinase inhibitors do not effect initial (5-30 min) cytokine or LPS signals which result in E-selectin expression but can inhibit the expression of cytokine/LPS induced E-selectin expression at a step distal to MAP-kinase activation.

Sirtuins are a mammalian family of NAD+-dependent histone deacetylases that regulate cell function and survival as well as regulating cell responses under inflammatory conditions. SIRT1 activator treatment in vitro using mouse pLN cells, normal human and ocular Behcet's disease donor PBMC resulted in suppressed T cell proliferation and pro-inflammatory cytokine production. Our data suggest a novel mechanism by which SIRT1 activators contribute to suppression of T cell proliferation by both down regulating STAT5A/B expression and suppression of pSTAT5A/B signaling in response to IL-2. Experimental autoimmune uveoretinitis (EAU) in B10.RIII mice is an antigen-specific cell-mediated model of human intra-ocular inflammatory disease. Infiltrating CD4+ T cells in the retina secrete both IFN-γ and IL-17 and are accompanied by inflammatory granulocytes and macrophages which together result in retinal destruction. Oral SIRT1 activator treatment administered to EAU mice suppressed disease with an accompanying reduction in retinal leukocytic infiltrate, suppressed antigen-specific T cell responses and marked suppression of innate and adaptive pro-inflammatory cytokine production in the eye including IL-6, IL-17A and IFN-γ. In vivo SIRT1 activator treatment also suppressed production of IL-17A, IL-17F, IL-6, TGFβ and IL-22 by pLN cells. Oral SIRT1 activator treatment administered to mice during the efferent phase (days7–14) of EAU was effective at suppressing disease. These observations demonstrate that SIRT1 activation is anti-inflammatory in nature and future targeted activation of SIRT1 shows promise as a potential treatment for non-infectious intra-ocular disorders such as uveitis associated with Behcets disease.

In late antiquity, the commentary became the most prominent genre of philosophical writing. Aristotle was the author who received the lion's share of attention, even though the commentators, beginning with Porphyry, were Platonists. Since Aristotle was seen not only as harmonious with Plato, but as more suitable for initial study in philosophy, commentaries for the use of students were naturally more often devoted to his works than to Plato's. The practice of writing commentaries on Aristotle, and the curriculum the commentaries were meant to support, cut across confessional lines. The Arabic tradition of commentary on Aristotle focuses on the earlier parts of the Aristotelian curriculum, with most emphasis on the logical and physical works. Only the greatest commentator of the Arabic tradition, Averroes, commented extensively on the De Anima or the Metaphysics. As in the Greek tradition, confessional divides were no obstacle to continuous and even co-ordinated efforts to understand Aristotle. This is best shown by the group of commentators known as the “Baghdad school.”

Using a fixed cell ELISA system E-selectin expression and adhesion of U937 cells were measured in both endotoxin (LPS: serotype 0111:B4) tregted and untreated cultures of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). Basal levels of E-selectin were unde-tectable whereas significant induction of both E-selectin and U937 cell adhesion were observed after exposure of HUVEC to LPS for 6h. The effect of LPS was serum dependent and unaffected by coincubation with neutralising antibodies to either IL-1α, IL-1β or TNFα either alone or in combination, even though each antibody was capable of neutralising the effect of exogenously added cytokine. In addition IgG fractions of neutralising anti-cytokine antibodies were purified, concentrated and microinjected into the cytosol of adherent HUVEC prior to treatment with 1 μg/ml LPS for 6 hrs. Immunofluorescence staining showed that cells microinjected with antibodies to IL-1α, IL-1β and TNFα either alone or in combination were positive for LPS-stimulated E-selectin, d...

Abū Bakr al-Rāzī (d. 925), a doctor known not only for his medical expertise but also for his notorious philosophical ideas, has not yet been given due credit for his ideas on the ethical treatment of animals. This paper explores the philosophical and theological background of his remarks on animal welfare, arguing that al-Rāzī did not (as has been claimed) see animals as possessing rational, intellectual souls like those of humans. It is also argued that al-Rāzī probably did not, as is usually believed, endorse human-animal transmigration. His ethical stance does not in any case depend on shared characteristics of humans and animals, but rather on the need to imitate God’s providence and mercy.

Los informes anteriores de esta serie han demostrado que no proteger a los niños de la pobreza es uno de los errores más costosos que puede cometer una sociedad. Son los propios niños quienes asumen el mayor de todos los costos, pero también sus países deben pagar un muy alto precio por su error: menor nivel de competencias y productividad, menor nivel de logros en materia de salud y educación, mayor probabilidad de desempleo y dependencia de la seguridad social, mayor costo de los sistemas de protección judicial y social, y pérdida de cohesión social. En el presente informe se incluyen los datos más recientes comparables a nivel internacional sobre privación infantil y pobreza infantil relativa. Tomadas en su conjunto, estas dos medidas diferentes ofrecen el mejor panorama disponible actualmente sobre la pobreza infantil en las naciones más ricas del mundo.

Les précédents rapports de la série des Bilans révèlent que lorsqu’une société ne protège pas les enfants contre la pauvreté, elle commet une erreur très coûteuse. En effet, si les enfants en sont les principales victimes, les pays en subissent également les conséquences et doivent affronter la baisse des compétences et de la productivité, la dégradation des niveaux de santé et d’instruction, l’augmentation du risque de chômage et de dépendance à l’égard de l’aide sociale, l’élévation des coûts de la protection sociale et des systèmes judiciaires, ainsi que l’érosion de la cohésion sociale. D’un point de vue économique, à l’exception du très court terme, la société a donc tout intérêt à prévenir la pauvreté des enfants.

Questo rapporto presenta gli ultimi dati comparabili a livello internazionale sulla deprivazione materiale e sulla povertà tra I bambini e gli adolescenti. Insieme, queste due diverse misure offrono un'immagine completa ed esaustiva delle condizioni in cui vivono bambini e adolescenti in alcuni paesi a reddito medio-alto.

Report Card 10 considers two views of child poverty in the world’s advanced economies: a measure of absolute deprivation, and a measure of relative poverty. The first measure is a 14-item Child Deprivation Index that represents a significant new development in international monitoring, drawing on data from the European Union’s Statistics on Incomes and Living Conditions survey of 125,000 households in 31 European countries, which has included a section on children for the first time. Children were considered 'deprived' if they lacked two or more of the items, which ranged from three meals a day, to an Internet connection. The second measure covers the EU and an additional six OECD countries (Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Switzerland and the United States) and examines the percentage of children living below their national 'poverty line' - defined as 50 per cent of median disposable household income.

This entry surveys five influential medieval theories of truth, paying particular attention to the bearers of truth within each theory as well as to their emphasis, whether metaphysical or semantic. (1) Anselm’s notion of truth is characterized by the concept of rectitude: something is true if it is/does what it ought to be/do, that is, if it conforms to God’s design for it (2) Abelard’s theory of truth revolves around the notion of the dicta of propositions, i.e., what is said by propositions. Dicta are the actual truth-bearers for Abelard. (3) Thomas Aquinas defends an approach to truth based on the notion of adequation of intellect and object. The fit can occur in both directions: an object can conform to the concept of it in its creator’s intellect, and a concept can conform to the object insofar as it represents it accurately in the knower’s intellect. (4) Theories of truth based on the concept of supposition provide recursive definitions of the truth of propositions based on the supposition of their terms, and reject any metaphysical import concerning the notion of truth. (5) Theories of truth emerging from fourteenth century treatises on insolubilia start out with a fundamentally Aristotelian definition of a true proposition as a proposition signifying as things are, which is then modified so as to introduce quantification over the signification of a proposition.The notion of truth was of crucial importance for medieval philosophers, as could be expected given their keen interest in logic and semantics, on the one hand, and in metaphysics and philosophical theology on the other. (Naturally, there is a strong medieval tradition dealing with a biblical notion of truth. Here, however, we will focus on philosophically inclined theories of truth, even though the line between theology and philosophy is a very thin one in the medieval context.) But to attain an accurate understanding of medieval theories of truth, it is important to realize that the class of such theories is more heterogeneous than the class formed by modern theories of truth. For example, we philosophers of the early twenty-first century (in particular those working within the analytic tradition) are accustomed to viewing truth essentially as an attribute of complex linguistic entities. Now, when examining medieval theories of truth, the modern philosopher may be surprised by the wide variety of entities that can receive the attribute “true” – truth-bearers for short: propositions (in the Latin sense of propositio, i.e., roughly what is now known as a declarative sentence, a statement, but which can be spoken, written, or mental), as to be expected, but also objects, mental judgments, actions, and even God.A general characteristic of these theories (in fact, of medieval logical theories in general) is the influential position occupied by the Aristotelian corpus, in particular discussions from the Categories and De interpretatione (in first instance) and the Metaphysics (which only became widely read halfway the thirteenth century, see Dod 1982). Also influential was the neoplatonic-Augustinian conception of truth which equated truth to being: “The true is that which is” (Augustine, Soliloquia II, 5, quoted in Aertsen 1992:160). These two radically different sources of inspiration may explain the heterogeneity of medieval theories of truth, which will be illustrated here by the analysis of five representative medieval approaches to truth.To help us understand the different theories in their diversity, a few distinctions may come in handy. First, among the different medieval theories, one encounters two basic kinds of entities to which truth is attributed – two kinds of truth-bearers: linguistic and mental entities, and objects in extra-mental reality. Indeed, the attribution of truth to objects is one of the distinctive features of some medieval theories of truth (known as objectual (Künne 2003:3.1.2) or ontological (Wippel 1989:295) truth in the literature). But all medieval theories recognize spoken, written, and mental propositions and judgments as bearers of truth as well (known as propositional (Künne 2003:3.1.2) or logical (Wippel 1989:295) truth in the literature).Secondly, let us distinguish between metaphysical and semantic approaches to truth, a distinction pertaining to emphasis. The metaphysical approach is characterized by the focus upon the properties and states of things that make truth-bearers true. By contrast, the semantic approach is characterized by minimal or no focus on what must obtain in reality for an entity to be deemed true; rather, semantic theories of truth concentrate on properties of the linguistic entity in question, in particular its signification or the supposition of its terms, in order to determine its truth-value. In other words, what makes a proposition true within the semantic approach are primarily properties of the proposition itself, and not the state of things in reality.Notice that one should not conflate the metaphysical approach with correspondence theories of truth, which are characterized by the idea that truth is a relational property involving a relation (often of likeness) of a given entity to some portion of reality. Indeed, there are semantic theories of truth that are also fundamentally based on correspondence. To illustrate the difference between metaphysical and semantic approaches, consider two correspondentist definitions of the truth of propositions:1. A proposition is true iff things are as it signifies them to be.2. A proposition is true iff it signifies things to be as they are. In (1), the truth of a proposition depends on properties of things, and its signification is, as it were, taken for granted (it is not under scrutiny); therefore, (1) characterizes a metaphysical approach to truth. By contrast, in (2) the truth of a proposition depends on a feature of the proposition itself, its signification, and the state of things is in turn taken for granted; (2) is thus a semantic definition of truth.But, to be sure, not all medieval theories of truth are based on correspondence; those articulated on the basis of the notion of supposition, for example, are not. In the latter case, truth is not a relational property but rather a monadic property of truth-bearers.Notice also that, with respect to the first distinction, a semantic theory of truth will only have linguistic entities as its truth-bearers. A metaphysical theory of truth may recognize nonlinguistic as well as linguistic entities as its truth-bearers; but a theory of truth whose truth-bearers are exclusively propositions, but which focuses on what must obtain in reality for propositions to be true and not on their semantic properties is also, according to this distinction, a metaphysical theory of truth (in what follows, I do not treat such theories, but one could find examples thereof among fourteenth-century realists such as Walter Burley and John Wycliff; see Cesalli (2007)). It is not the nature of truth-bearers that makes a theory semantic or metaphysical, but rather the nature of their causes of truth, i.e., whether semantic or metaphysical facts.