Access to Justice as a Priority for Development (Info-teaching materials for high-school students)

Treball Final del Màster Universitari Internacional en Estudis de Pau, Conflictes i Desenvolupament (Pla 2013). Codi: SBG120. Curs acadèmic 2014-2015The main focus of this project is to highlight the importance of equal access to justice for all, without kind of racial, religious, economic, gender discrimination, for development of the country. First, in my theoretical I will clarify the terms such as development and equal access to justice, as one of the goals of UN´s New Development Agenda. Afterwards, I will emphasize the importance of access to justice for all, when talking about development of underdeveloped and developing countries. Second, practical, part of the project is info-teaching brochure created with the purpose of providing information and raising awareness of high school students about the issue of access to justice for everybody, its importance in development process and, about the role of UN in general

Gravity measurements in the Pieniny Klippen Belt (Western Slovakia) [abstract] /

Tyt. z nagłówka.Artykuł jest abstr. referatu z konferencji.The examined area is situated in the Púchov section of the Pieniny Klippen Belt (PKB) in western Slovakia. The main aim of our research was to broaden the present knowledge on geological structure of the PKB and on its tectonic connection to the surrounding regional units using the geophysical methods.The profile gravity measurements consist of two parallel profiles named prof_1 and prof_2 of roughly NNW-SSE direction. The eastern section prof_1 has a length of 6.36 km; the western profile prof_2 is about 3.84 km long. Measurements were carried out at intervals of 20 meters (overall 506 points were gauged) by gravimeters Scintrex CG3 and CG5. The acquire data were processed into the Bouguer gravity anomalies. The software package GM-SYS (Geosoft) was applied for the gravity modelling and the final geological-geophysical sections represent distribution of the lithological members with their specific density parameters (density values were determined by the own laboratory measurements of rock samples collected along the profiles). The density modelling was also based on the results obtained by the geoelectrical exploration (vertical electric sounding and resistivity profiling), new surface geological mapping and borehole interpretation (continuously cored bores MIK-1 and MIK-2). Presented detailed gravity measurements reflect density differences between klippen (rigid limestone blocks) and their mantle (predominant marlstone) and they demonstrate that the primary fold-nappe system of the PKB was destructed by the subsequent deformation, resulting in the formation of the positive flower structure and backthrusting. Summing up, the new density modelling confirmed complex geological structure of the studied area and helped us to better interpret the tectonic evolution of the PKB.Dostępny również w formie drukowanej.KEYWORDS: gravity measurement, gravimeter, modelling

Petrology and palaeotectonic setting of Cretaceous alkaline basaltic volcanismin the Pieniny Klippen Belt (Western Carpathians, Slovakia)

Occurrences of mafic alkaline volcanics are scattered all around Europe, being mostly related to anorogenic, extensional tectonic environments. While the widespread Cenozoic alkaline basalts have been intensively studied and are comparatively well-known, their Cretaceous precursors were often associated with the Alpine-Carpathian orogenic zones, and so their genesis and geodynamic setting are partially obscured by superimposed deformation and alteration. We describe a newly discovered body of melanephelionites inserted within the Upper Cretaceous deep-marine pelagic succession of the Pieniny Klippen Belt in Western Slovakia. The body consists of hyaloclastic lavas of nephelinitic composition. The mineralogical composition and geochemical features of the Vršatec volcanites correspond to melanephelinites. Reconstruction of the geodynamic setting of the Cretaceous mafic alkaline volcanism in the Alpine-Carpathian-Pannonian realm infers a general extensional/rifting tectonic regime that ultimately led to the opening of Penninic oceanic rift arms. However, this rifting started as basically passive and non-volcanic. Only during the later, post-breakup extension phases did the slow-spreading oceanic ridges develop, which are characterized by the MORB-type (mid-ocean-ridge basin) basaltic volcanism. Alkaline volcanic provinces have a linear character and appear to follow passive continental margins of Penninic oceanic arms opened during the Jurassic and Early Cretaceous. We infer that alkaline volcanism resulted from heating and partial melting of the subcontinental mantle lithosphere on the peripheries of asthenospheric upwellings confined to slow-spreading ridges of the Alpine Tethys. Consequently, regarding the debate about the plume vs. non-plume origin of the Cretaceous alkaline volcanism, the geological data from this area rather support the latter affinity

Alzheimer’s Disease Risk Variant rs3865444 in the CD33 Gene: A Possible Role in Susceptibility to Multiple Sclerosis

Polymorphisms in genes encoding receptors that modulate the activity of microglia and macrophages are attractive candidates for participation in genetic susceptibility to multiple sclerosis (MS). The aims of the study were to (1) investigate the association between Alzheimer’s disease-linked variant rs3865444:C>A in the CD33 gene and MS risk, (2) assess the effect of the strongest MS risk allele HLA-DRB1*15:01 on this association, and (3) analyze the correlation of rs3865444 with selected clinical phenotypes, i.e., age of onset and disease severity. CD33 rs3865444 was genotyped in a cohort of 579 patients and 1145 controls and its association with MS risk and clinical phenotypes was analyzed by logistic and linear regression analysis, respectively. Statistical evaluation revealed that rs3865444 reduces the risk of MS in the HLA-DRB1*15:01-positive subpopulation but not in the cohort negative for HLA-DRB1*15:01. A significant antagonistic epistasis between rs3865444 A and HLA-DRB1*15:01 alleles in the context of MS risk was detected by the interaction synergy factor analysis. Comparison of allele and genotype distribution between relapsing-remitting MS, secondary progressive MS, and control groups revealed that rs3865444 C to A substitution may also be associated with a decreased risk of transition of MS to its secondary progressive form, irrespective of the HLA-DRB1*15:01 carrier status. On the other hand, no correlation could be found between rs3865444 and the age of disease onset or MS severity score. Future studies are required to shed more light on the role of CD33 in MS pathogenesis