Fixing the Problem of Incompetent Defense Counsel Before the International Criminal Court

Throughout the latter half of the twentieth-century, defense counsel arguing before international criminal tribunals provided notoriously ineffective assistance. This note examines whether defense counsel similarly fail to provide competent assistance at the International Criminal Court––and if they do so for similar reasons. In examining the ICC’s procedural and regulatory framework, this note highlights the systemic inequities at the Court that favor the prosecution and devalue the defense, thereby hindering the acquisition of competent defense counsel and promoting the retention of incompetent defense counsel. To address these iniquities, this note promotes various administrative reforms, all of which could be implemented without requiring significant overhauls of the ICC’s current structure. Failure to take action, this note cautions, risks depriving the accused of a competent defense, jeopardizing the equality of arms and the ICC’s perceived legitimacy

Effects of selected nitrogen-containing aromatic compounds (NCACs) on physiological properties in Escherichia coli

This research examined the effects of quinoline and 4-azafluorene on respiratory electron transport rate (ET), outer membrane permeability and topology, oxygen consumption, and viable cell density in Escherichia coli cell suspensions. ET was estimated spectrophotometrically using INT (2-(p-iodophenyl)-3-(p-nitrophenyl)-5-(phenyl)-2H-tetrazolium chloride, which is reduced in vivo to a red colored formazan (INTF). Both test compounds caused anomalous dose-response behavior in INT assays: in a defined window of doses, ET rates near or above the controls were observed. These doses showed altered INT reduction kinetics, decreased cellular oxygen demand, and decreased viable cell densities. Experiments with E. coli spheroplast preparations, gram(+) cells, and deep rough mutants suggested that the toxicants increased outer membrane permeability and inhibited normal respiratory function. Results of cell-free ET assays and transmission electron microscopy further indicated altered outer membrane structure and inhibition of respiratory ET via, (1) secondary topological effects on the periplasm and inner membrane, (2) redox cycling of electrons in the respiratory chain, or (3) both 1 and 2 together. Quantitative studies of INT chemical structure and aqueous electrochemistry at Hg, C, and Pt electrodes were conducted to address analytical shortcomings in the literature. Data include nuclear magnetic resonance spectra, results from normal and differential pulse polarography, cyclic voltammetry, ring disc electrode, and spectroelectrochemical experiments. The route of INT reduction involves a slow one electron reduction to a tetrazolinyl radical followed by a fast one electron reduction and addition of one proton to yield formazan. Results on C and Pt electrodes indicated interfering reactions involving adsorbed hydrogen species and the possibility of underpotential generation of hydrogen gas

Designing New Yeasts for Craft Brewing: When Natural Biodiversity Meets Biotechnology

Beer is a fermented beverage with a history as old as human civilization. Ales and lagers are by far the most common beers; however, diversification is becoming increasingly important in the brewing market and the brewers are continuously interested in improving and extending the range of products, especially in the craft brewery sector. Fermentation is one of the widest spaces for innovation in the brewing process. Besides Saccharomyces cerevisiae ale and Saccharomyces pastorianus lager strains conventionally used in macro-breweries, there is an increasing demand for novel yeast starter cultures tailored for producing beer styles with diversified aroma profiles. Recently, four genetic engineering-free approaches expanded the genetic background and the phenotypic biodiversity of brewing yeasts and allowed novel costumed-designed starter cultures to be developed: (1) the research for new performant S. cerevisiae yeasts from fermented foods alternative to beer; (2) the creation of synthetic hybrids between S. cerevisiae and Saccharomyces non-cerevisiae in order to mimic lager yeasts; (3) the exploitation of evolutionary engineering approaches; (4) the usage of non-Saccharomyces yeasts. Here, we summarized the pro and contra of these approaches and provided an overview on the most recent advances on how brewing yeast genome evolved and domestication took place. The resulting correlation maps between genotypes and relevant brewing phenotypes can assist and further improve the search for novel craft beer starter yeasts, enhancing the portfolio of diversified products offered to the final customer

Hydrothermal Treatment of Creosote-Impregnated Wood

This paper describes the treatment of creosote-treated wood in anoxic supercritical water (SC). Decommissioned (ca. 15 yr) creosote-treated pine utility pole wood, which had been chipped was hydro-treated directly. During treatment, the creosote-derived hydrocarbon residues in the wood were nearly completely (>99%) recovered, and the wood itself was transformed into a mixture of hydrocarbons including substituted benzenes, phenolics, and light PAHs. These wood-derived transformation products served to reconstitute the "light end" of the creosote, which had been largely lost while in service. Thus, the hazardous waste (creosote hydrocarbon mixture) was recovered, and the solid waste (wood) was transformed into a complementary product mixture in a single pass. Solid residues after 12-20 h of treatment wer

Violence against Women: An Exploration of the Physical and Mental Health Trends among Immigrant and Refugee Women in Canada

Violence against women is a serious health and social problem for women worldwide. Researchers have investigated the broad physical and mental health consequences of violence against women but few have focused on immigrant and refugee women. We assessed the history of violence and the impairment of physical and mental health among 60 women participants from the Iranian and Sri Lankan Tamil communities in Toronto, Canada. Our survey findings revealed that the participants had experienced various types of violence throughout their lifespan, with psychological abuse by a spouse/partner occurring most frequently in the past 12 months. Commonly reported types of abuse included insulting, criticizing, and intimidation by partner (psychological abuse); slapping, hitting, and shoving (physical abuse); and forced sexual intercourse and sexually degrading acts (sexual abuse) by a partner/spouse. We found that a substantial proportion of the participants also had experienced physical and mental health impairment, which could be a result of the various types of violence they had experienced throughout their lifespan. Research and practice implications are provided

Mutations in proteins involved in E-C coupling and SOCE and congenital myopathies

In skeletal muscle, Ca2+ necessary for muscle contraction is stored and released from the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR), a specialized form of endoplasmic reticulum through the mechanism known as excitation-contraction (E-C) coupling. Following activation of skeletal muscle contraction by the E-C coupling mechanism, replenishment of intracellular stores requires reuptake of cytosolic Ca2+ into the SR by the activity of SR Ca2+-ATPases, but also Ca2+ entry from the extracellular space, through a mechanism called store-operated calcium entry (SOCE). The fine orchestration of these processes requires several proteins, including Ca2+ channels, Ca2+ sensors, and Ca2+ buffers, as well as the active involvement of mitochondria. Mutations in genes coding for proteins participating in E-C coupling and SOCE are causative of several myopathies characterized by a wide spectrum of clinical phenotypes, a variety of histological features, and alterations in intracellular Ca2+ balance. This review summarizes current knowledge on these myopathies and discusses available knowledge on the pathogenic mechanisms of disease

Hydrothermal Treatment of CCA- and Penta-Treated Wood

Two of the three most commonly used wood preservatives in the United States are chromated copper arsenate (CCA) and oil-borne pentachlorophenol (penta). Both are excellent preservatives for extending the service life of exterior wood. Both also pose environmental problems associated with their disposal. This paper describes the treatment of two different groups of preservative-treated wood (CCA type C and oil-borne penta) in anaerobic supercritical water (SC) under acidic and basic conditions, respectively. A decommissioned (ca. 13 yr) southern pine (Pinus sp.) guard rail impregnated with CCA and a freshly treated pentaimpregnated pole were examined. During SC treatments, wood particles were transformed (approx. 98% efficiency) into liquid and gaseous hydrocarbon (HC) phase. The metals recovered in the two liquid phases vs. total concentration in the wood were as follows: copper: 91% AQ; < 1% HC, chromium: 28% AQ; 1.3% HC, and arsenic: 69% AQ; < 1% HC. The penta wood yielded a similar hydrocarbon mixture, with the chlorinated phenols undergoing dechlorination and further reaction. The formation of phenolic condensation products such as chlorinated dibenzofurans and dioxins occurred under these conditions when the reaction was run in quartz-lined containers and metals were excluded from the reaction mixture. When iron (either from the reactor walls or added in quartz cells as iron particles) was present, these products were not observed

Hybridization of saccharomyces cerevisiae sourdough strains with cryotolerant saccharomyces bayanus nbrc1948 as a strategy to increase diversity of strains available for lager beer fermentation

The search for novel brewing strains from non-brewing environments represents an emerging trend to increase genetic and phenotypic diversities in brewing yeast culture collections. Another valuable tool is hybridization, where beneficial traits of individual strains are combined in a single organism. This has been used successfully to create de novo hybrids from parental brewing strains by mimicking natural Saccharomycescerevisiae ale 7 Saccharomyceseubayanus lager yeast hybrids. Here, we integrated both these approaches to create synthetic hybrids for lager fermentation using parental strains from niches other than beer. Using a phenotype-centered strategy, S. cerevisiae sourdough strains and the S. eubayanus 7 Saccharomyces uvarum strain NBRC1948 (also referred to as Saccharomyces bayanus) were chosen for their brewing aptitudes. We demonstrated that, in contrast to S. cerevisiae 7 S. uvarum crosses, hybridization yield was positively affected by time of exposure to starvation, but not by staggered mating. In laboratory-scale fermentation trials at 20 \ub0C, one triple S. cerevisiae 7 S. eubayanus 7 S. uvarum hybrid showed a heterotic phenotype compared with the parents. In 2 L wort fermentation trials at 12 \ub0C, this hybrid inherited the ability to consume efficiently maltotriose from NBRC1948 and, like the sourdough S. cerevisiae parent, produced appreciable levels of the positive aroma compounds 3-methylbutyl acetate (banana/pear), ethyl acetate (general fruit aroma) and ethyl hexanoate (green apple, aniseed, and cherry aroma). Based on these evidences, the phenotype-centered approach appears promising for designing de novo lager beer hybrids and may help to diversify aroma profiles in lager beer