Violencia, autonomía militar y procesos de formación del Estado y la constitución de la Nación / Violence, military autonomy and State shaping processes, and the constitutiotn of the Nation

Se presenta un análisis de la evolución de las organizaciones estatales, a partir del fenómeno de la violencia, y desde allí entender la relación entre militares y Estado, en términos de autonomía y los procesos de formación del Estado-nación. Mediante una revisión bibliográfica, limitada a autores clásicos y contemporáneos que han abordado la experiencia europea, se estudió la tendencia de los militares hacia la autonomía, teniendo en cuenta los procesos de formación del Estado y del Estado-nación en el mundo occidental moderno. Como resultado, se encontró que la formación del Estado-nación moderno fue un efecto inesperado del proceso de civilización, que sustrajo la violencia de la sociedad, limitándola a las barracas, a organizaciones como las Fuerzas Militares y la Policía, y que dio lugar también a la creación de instituciones orientadas a mejorar las condiciones de vida de los ciudadanos.

An analysis is offered of the evolution of state organizations out of the conjuncture of violence, and from that starting point attempting to understand the Military-State relationship, in terms of autonomy and the Nation-State shaping process. By means of a bibliographic review limited to the work of classic and modern authors having dealt with the European experience, the inclination to autonomy of the military was examined by taking into account the State and the Nation-State shaping processes in the modern Western world. As a result, it was found that the shaping of the modern Nation-State was an unexpected effect of the civilization process that took violence away from society by confining it to the barracks and organizations such as the Military Forces and the Police, and gave origin as well to the creation of institutions oriented towards improving the living conditions of citizens.

Proceso de formación del Estado-nación y autonomía militar en Latinoamérica / The shaping of the nation-state and military autonomy in Latin America

Dado que el conflicto interno en Colombia ha sido una situación permanente desde la época de la Independencia, es importante analizar otras experiencias en la región, que permitan entender aún más las causas de este flagelo en Colombia. Para tal fin se recurrió a la perspectiva de la violencia, su monopolio, y los procesos de formación del Estado-nación moderno. La metodología empleada parte del análisis y la discusión de los postulados de autores clásicos y contemporáneos. Así mismo, se consideró el fenómeno de la formación del Estado-nación en Latinoamérica, con especial atención en el papel de las Fuerzas Militares y su tendencia hacia la autonomía. Se consideran las tipicidades de la región, tales como el tipo de guerra predominante, el rol de las élites regionales y su relación con el poder central, entre otros. Los resultados indican que estas tipicidades, de acuerdo con los autores estudiados, dieron lugar a la formación de Estados débiles, sin clara distinción entre los roles de las Fuerzas Militares y la Policía, y sin una definición clara de ciudadanía. A partir de estos planteamientos, se concluye que es necesario y urgente realizar nuevas investigaciones, las cuales permitan entender las relaciones de poder, autonomía y roles desde la perspectiva de la guerra y del monopolio de la violencia en Colombia, y que ayuden a encontrar una salida al ya complejo conflicto interno del país, teniendo en cuenta los procesos de formación de un Estado-nación desde la violencia.

Because the Colombian internal conflict has been a permanent and still ongoing situation since the times of the Independence, analyzing other experiences in the region is important in order to reach deeper understanding of the causes of this adversity in Colombia. For this purpose, resorting to the perspective of violence, its monopoly, and the modern Nation-State shaping processes has been necessary. The methodology used comes from analysis and discussion of classic and modern authors’ postulates. Likewise, the Nation-State shaping conjuncture taking place in Latin America was considered, with special attention given to the role of the Military Forces and their inclination to autonomy. Typicities of the region were also taken into account, such as the predominant type of war, the role of regional elites and their relationship with central power, among others. Results indicate that, according to the authors reviewed, these typicities have given rise to the shaping of weak States with no clear distinction between Military Forces and Police roles, and with an unclear definition of citizenship. Taking these approaches as a starting point, the conclusion is that carrying out further investigations and research is necessary and urgent since they may help understand the relations among power, autonomy and roles from the perspective of war and monopoly of violence in Colombia, and find a way out for this already too long and too complex internal conflict in the country by taking into account the Nation-State shaping processes out of violence.

Obesity differentially affects serum levels of androstenedione and testosterone in polycystic ovary syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: To assess androstenedione (A) and T levels in obese and nonobese patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) after GnRH and oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTT). DESIGN: Cross sectional study. SETTING: Clinical research center. PATIENT(S): Thirty patients with PCOS, of whom 15 were obese and 15 were nonobese, and 7 women without PCOS were included in the study. INTERVENTION(S): The GnRH test and OGTT were performed in all subjects. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Basal and stimulated levels of LH, FSH, insulin, A, and total T were measured. Areas under the curve (AUCs) and AUC change after stimulation for these hormones were calculated. RESULT(S): The basal T levels were significantly higher in obese than in nonobese patients with PCOS. In contrast, the basal levels of A were similar in obese and nonobese patients with PCOS. The T(AUC) after GnRH was significantly greater in obese than in nonobese patients with PCOS but was not significantly different after OGTT. The A(AUC) after GnRH and OGTT was significantly greater in nonobese than in obese patients with PCOS. However, there were no significant differences in T(AUC) and A(AUC) changes after GnRH and OGTT. CONCLUSION(S): A different pattern in the levels of T and A with respect to obesity in PCOS was observed, suggesting a shift in ovarian enzymatic function.

Correlation of Kupperman's index with estrogen and androgen levels, according to weight and body fat distribution in postmenopausal women from Mexico City.

OBJECTIVES: To establish the differences in Kupperman's index (KI) and hormone levels according to weight and body fat distribution in postmenopausal women, since obesity and fat distribution affect hormone levels. MATERIAL AND METHODS: One hundred and twenty-five postmenopausal women were studied and divided according to body mass index (BMI) and waist-hip ratio (WHR): normal weight (BMI < or = 27), obesity (BMI > 27); lower-level body fat distribution (WHR < or = 0.85) and upper-level body fat distribution (WHR >0.85). Afterwards four subgroups were created: (I) BMI < or = 27 and WHR < or = 0.85, (II) BMI < or = 27 and WHR > 0.85, (III) BMI > 27 and WHR < or = 0.85, and (IV) BMI >27 and WHR > 0.85. Climacteric symptoms were analyzed with Kupperman's index. Estrone, estradiol, testosterone, androstenedione, and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate determinations were done by radioimmunoassay and verified by chemoluminescence. The androstenedione-estrone and testosterone-estradiol ratios were calculated. Statistical analysis was by Student's t test for independent samples, plus Pearson's correlation analysis. RESULTS: Average age was 53.0 +/- 6.5 years, time since menopause 74.2 +/- 64.3 months. When comparing those with lower-level body fat distribution and those with upper-level body fat distribution, the A levels were significantly lower (P < 0.04) in those with upper-level distribution. Kupperman's index was significantly lower in subgroup I when compared with subgroups III and IV. The androstenedione level was lower in subgroup IV compared with subgroup III. In the whole sample, there was a correlation of the WHR with testosterone (0.297, P < .004) and the testosterone-estradiol ratio (0.209, P < .04). CONCLUSION: It was shown that the testosterone-estradiol ratio has a better correlation with the symptoms, so it can be used to evaluate climacteric patients when they complain of menopausal symptoms.

Norethisterone is bioconverted to oestrogenic compounds that activate both the oestrogen receptor alpha and oestrogen receptor beta in vitro.

In the present study, we used [3H]norethisterone to explore the bioconversion of this compound to A-ring reduced metabolites in African Green Monkey Kidney CV-1 cells and breast cancer T-47D cells. Additionally, we analyzed the capability of each norethisterone tetrahydro-reduced compound to bind the human oestrogen receptors alpha and beta and transactivate an oestrogen-sensitive reporter gene. The results showed that norethisterone is mainly metabolized to 3 alpha,5 alpha-norethisterone (>85% of total [3H]norethisterone added) by CV-1 and T-47D cells, and that both A-ring tetrahydro-reduced metabolites exhibit different capabilities to displace [3H]17beta-oestradiol from the oestrogen receptor alpha and beta, being 3 alpha,5 alpha-norethisterone the weakest competitor. We also found that 3 alpha,5 alpha-norethisterone and 3beta,5 alpha-norethisterone activate both oestrogen receptors at nanomolar concentrations and that the transactivation induced by the oestrogen receptor alpha was generally higher (1.7- to 4.0-fold) than that provoked by the beta receptor isoform. In oestrogen receptor alpha-transfected CV-1 and T-47 D cells, the oestrogenic-like potency of the 3beta,5 alpha-tetrahydro-reduced form was similar to that exhibited by 17beta-oestradiol and 2.5- to 4.0-fold higher than that shown by the 3 alpha,5 alpha-reduced compound; conversely, in the oestrogen receptor beta system the potency of the natural ligand was higher than that presented by the 3beta,5 alpha-tetrahydro-reduced metabolite. In CV-1 cells expressing the oestrogen receptor beta, the transactivation potency of 3beta,5 alpha-norethisterone was approximately 2-fold higher than that exhibited by its 3 alpha,5 alpha-tetrahydro-reduced isomer, whereas in T-47D cells the potency of the 3 alpha,5 alpha-tetrahydro-reduced compound was slightly higher than that shown by the 3beta,5 alpha A-ring reduced norethisterone metabolite. These results demonstrate that CV-1 and T-47D cells possess the enzymatic machinery to bioconvert norethisterone into the 5 alpha-reduced, 3 alpha-hydroxylated form and that neither 3 alpha,5 alpha- or 3beta,5 alpha-norethisterone exhibit preference or selectivity towards a particular oestrogen receptor isoform to induce a particular oestrogenic effect in these cell lines.

Heterogeneity of late-onset adrenal 3ß-ol-hidroxysteroid dehydrogenase deficiency in patients with hirsutism and polycystic ovaries

Nine women clinical features of polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) were studied in order to establish the differential diagnosis with late-onset adrenal hyperplasia (LOAH). Their hirsutism was classified as moderate in five patients and severe in the remainig four cases. All patients had bilateral polycystic ovarian enlargement by ultrasound examination. As a control group five women with normal ovarian function without hirsutism were submitted to the same protocol of study. The patients studied as well as the women of the control group had basal serum determinations of pregnenolone (P5), 17 hydroxypregnenolone (17-OHP5), dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), pregesterone (P), 17-hydroxyprogesterone (17-OHP), androstenedione (A), testosterone and cortisol by radioimmunoassay techniques. The basal serum levels of androgens showed no correlation with the severity of hirsutism or with the ultrasound finding. An adrenal stimulation with synthetic adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) to all women performed in order to assess their adrenal responsiveness. The analysis of the ratios between delta 5 and delta 4 steroids demonstrated a partial enzymatic blockade at the level of 3ß-o1-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3-HDS) in three patients. The blockade was particulary in the conversion of P5 to P and 17-OHP5 to 17- OHP. The lack of delta 4 steroid secretion in the presence of normal increase of delta 5 precursors following ACTH was noted. These findings confirm the clinical use of the ACTH stimulation test to reveal the presence of enzymatic alterations in adrenal steroidogenesis in some patients previously considered to have PCOS. Since it was demonstrated that the conversion steps were affected in variable degrees, the presence of different isoenzymes of 3-HSD is suggested