La question de l'Océan Arctique entre tropisme juridique et 'wishful thinking'

Cet article aborde la question de l'Océan Arctique à travers le phénomène du tropisme juridique. Dans une perspective historique et contemporaine, l'article analyse les différents changements d'orientation de l'ordre juridique international en réponse à l'application controversée des critères ordinaires en matière d'établissement de la souveraineté étatique à cet espace marin historiquement couvert essentiellement de glace, et aujourd'hui touché par une progressive fonte de cette dernière à cause du réchauffement terrestre. A la lumière du phénomène du dégel naturel, l'Océan Arctique a acquis une nouvelle position centrale d'importance internationale. Regardant l'avenir avec confiance et en faisant preuve d'un certain wishful thinking, cette étude se conclut dans l'espoir d'une réponse positive de la part de l'ordre international au stimulus toujours croissant de la coopération et de la solidarité nécessaires entre États arctiques et États non arctiques, afin de trouver un juste équilibre entre les intérêts particuliers des États et ceux collectifs de la Communauté internationale

El Ártico ante el derecho internacional

Hoy como ayer, la soberanía de los Estados sigue teniendo una relevancia polí-tica y jurídica fundamental en el ordenamiento internacional, pero hoy más que ayer la comunidad internacional se enfrenta a cuestiones de interés general con una dimensión global. Estas cuestiones no sólo son cada vez más numerosas cuantitati-vamente, sino que también cualitativamente están cada vez más interrelacionadas y, por eso, no pueden solucionarse desde una perspectiva exclusivamente nacional, pues las «soluciones» a problemas globales no son tales, porque resultan necesa-riamente parciales. En este sentido, en el espacio ártico se plantea una cuestión jurídica (la «cuestión ártica») que radica precisamente en esa disyuntiva: por un lado, pretensiones estatales que, lejos de asumir el carácter funcional de la soberanía al servicio de los intereses de la comunidad internacional, reflejan la dimensión individual de los Estados, y, por otro, problemas comunes que plantean la dimensión global de la comunidad internacional. En esta Tesis se analizará la cuestión del Ártico a través del estudio de la plasmación de las dos funciones tradicionales del Derecho Internacional (la coexistencia y la cooperación) y de su relativa contribución para hacer frente a las nuevas oportunidades y desafíos que el proceso contemporáneo de derretimiento del hielo en el Ártico está ocasionando. Tras un Capítulo que introduce la nueva visibilidad internacional del Ártico, la Primera Parte de la Tesis está más centrada en el análisis de la coexistencia de los Estados en el espacio ártico, abordándose, por un lado, las cuestiones en torno a la soberanía sobre espacios terrestres y aéreos árticos (Capítulo Primero) y, por otro, el régimen jurídico del océano Ártico (Capítulo Segundo). La Segunda Parte se ocupa más de la cooperación internacional en el Ártico, cu-yo estudio analiza tanto el proceso de institucionalización de dicha cooperación (Capítulo Tercero) como sus distintos ámbitos de actuación (Capítulo Cuarto). El uso de la expresión «cooperación internacional en el Ártico» en lugar de la expresión más en auge y que más está siendo usada actualmente en distintos foros internacionales, a saber, la de «gobernanza del Ártico», se debe al hecho de que, ante su indefinición jurídica, este estudio considera la «gobernanza» como un sis-tema de regulación y gestión multilateral y multisectorial que, desde un punto de vista normativo (incluido el llamado «Derecho blando») e institucional, no parece ser otra cosa que una manifestación más, y resultado, de la cooperación internacio-nal en tanto que una de las principales funciones del Derecho Internacional. Finalmente, las conclusiones de esta Tesis sugieren esencialmente la aplicación dinámica del Derecho Internacional existente (en particular, la Convención de las Naciones Unidas sobre Derecho del Mar de 1982 y otros instrumentos «apropiados» para el Ártico) según una interpretación teleológica, que no excluye la posibilidad del desarrollo posterior de algunos marcos normativos o de su adaptación sea a las peculiaridades del Ártico sea a las nuevas condiciones del Ártico

The Law of the Sea and the Arctic Ocean

Rather than proposing new legal instruments for addressing the contemporary significant changes of the Arctic Ocean, both the 2008 Ilulissat Declaration and the 2010 Chelsea ministerial meeting reaffirm the five Arctic coastal States’ commitment to the Law of the Sea. Since then, several of them have strengthened their presence in the Arctic in order to protect their particular interests. Priority seems to be given to a selective application of the international norms that ensure the coexistence of coastal States in the Arctic Ocean, as well as the cooperation between them for enabling said coexistence. A good example would be the signing of the Treaty of 15 September 2010 between Norway and Russian Federation concerning maritime delimitation and cooperation in the Barents Sea and the Arctic Ocean. However, the applicable law in the Arctic Ocean should be the comprehensive existing Law of the Sea frameworks, including any norms that do not rely on the geographic location of States, and that promote cooperation for protecting the general interests of the international community, particularly for the benefit of mankind as a whole. Without precluding work on further developing some of the existing frameworks, attention will be paid to the need for a teleological interpretation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, in light of the new conditions or specificities of the Arctic Ocean.Keywords: Law of the Sea (UNCLOS); Arctic Ocean; Sea-ice and Ice Islands; Trans-Arctic Passages; Arctic Outer Limits of the Continental Shelf; Arctic Maritime Zones beyond National Jurisdiction; Sub/Circumpolar CooperationCitation: Arctic Review on Law and Politics, vol. 2, 1/2011 p. 4–24. ISSN 1891-625

Biocomposites based on PHBs and natural fibers for commodity applications in different environments: processing, performance in soil, compost and sea water

Composites based on poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) and natural fibres such as fibres of Posidonia oceanica (PO), wood saw dust (WSD) and bran were produced by extrusion in presence of appropriate amounts of plasticizer (Acetyl Tri-n- Butyl Citrate, ATBC) and filler (calcium carbonate). Thermal, rheological, mechanical and morphological characterizations of the developed composites were conducted in order to optimize formulations in terms of processability and mechanical performance. The biodegradability of the optimized composites was investigated under controlled composting conditions in accordance with standard methods (ASTM D5338-98, ISO 20200-2004) and in soil for the PHB/WSD composites, because their expected fate is to be treated in composting plants or used for applications in agriculture; in simulated and natural marine sediments in mesocosms and dune habitat for the PHB/PO composites, because their potential applications are in marine environment, such as natural engineering interventions (restoration of seagrass habitats). The optimized PHB/WSD compounds were used for the production of pots for terrestrial plants, PHB/PO compounds for pots and other items usable in the sea and sand dunes, such as transplanting tools and structures for restoration or protection of coastal habitats, and the PHB/bran fibres for the production of food contact containers. The results showed that the industrial processing by extrusion of the composites did not show any difficulty up to 20 wt. % fibres and the presence of the fibres (PO or WSD) facilitated the disintegration of the PHB matrix and, consequently, accelerated its biodegradation both in compost, soil, sea water and dune. The PHB/WSD composites resulted no-phytotoxic by using cress (Lepidium sativum L.) germination test, compostable in accordance with EN 13427:2000, biodegradable in soil at controlled degradation rate. The PHB/PO composites showed a good controlled biodegradation rate in marine sediments and were suitable to manufacture items usable, for example, in natural engineering interventions and represent an interesting valorisation of the PO fibrous wastes accumulated in large amounts on coastal beaches

A controlled study comparing salivary osmolality, caries experience and caries risk in patients with cerebral palsy

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a permanent neurological disorder accompanied by secondary musculoskeletal masticatory disorder, with repercussion on chewing and deglutition functions. In these conditions, the liquids ingestion is compromised resulting in salivary osmolality alteration. The objective of this study was to compare salivary osmolality, caries experience and caries risk between normoreactive individuals and patients with CP. The participants were 4-20 years old: 52 patients with CP treated at a reference rehabilitation centre (study group, SG), and 52 normoreactive individuals (control group, CG). Saliva was collected for five minutes using cotton rolls. Following centrifugation, salivary osmolality was determined by freezing point depression osmometry. Evaluations included caries experience (DMFT index), and caries risk based on a caries-risk assessment tool (CAT). Descriptive and inferential statistics (Chi square and Student t tests) were used to compare the groups. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses were performed and the area under the ROC curve (Az) was calculated. The level of significance was set at 5%. The groups were homogeneous for sex (p=0.843) and age (p=0.128). In the SG, spastic type CP was the most prevalent (80.8%), and patients showed significantly higher salivary osmolality values compared with the CG (p74 for the SG and >54 for the CG in the presence of dental caries. A significant correlation was verified between salivary osmolality and the DMFT index for the SG (p?0.05). Although patients with CP showed higher salivary osmolality values, higher caries experience and caries risk were not observed compared with normoreactive individuals

Structural Characterization of Natural and Processed Zircons with X-Rays and Nuclear Techniques

In ceramic industry, zircon sand is widely used in different applications because zirconia plays a role as common opacifying constituent. In particular, it is used as a basic component of glazes applied to ceramic tiles and sanitary ware as well as an opacifier in unglazed bulk porcelain stoneware. Natural zircon sands are the major source of zirconium minerals for industrial applications. In this paper, long, medium, and short range studies were conducted on zirconium minerals originated from Australia, South Africa, and United States of America using conventional and less conventional techniques (i.e., X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Positron Annihilation Lifetime Spectroscopy (PALS), and Perturbed Angular Correlations (PAC)) in order to reveal the type and the extension of the regions that constitute the metamict state of zircon sands and themodifications therein produced as a consequence of the industrial milling process and the thermal treatment in the production line. Additionally, HPGe gamma-ray spectroscopy confirms the occurrence of significant levels of natural radioactivity responsible for metamictization in the investigated zircon samples. Results from XRD, PALS, and PAC analysis confirm that the metamict state of zircon is a dispersion of submicron disordered domains in a crystalline matrix of zircon.Facultad de Ciencias Exacta

New metrology for radon at the environmental level

International audienc

The spinal cord injury-induced immune deficiency syndrome: results of the SCIentinel study

Infections are prevalent after spinal cord injury (SCI), constitute the main cause of death and are a rehabilitation confounder associated with impaired recovery. We hypothesize that SCI causes an acquired lesion-dependent (neurogenic) immune suppression as an underlying mechanism to facilitate infections. The international prospective multicentre cohort study (SCIentinel; protocol registration DRKS00000122; n = 111 patients) was designed to distinguish neurogenic from general trauma-related effects on the immune system. Therefore, SCI patient groups differing by neurological level, i.e. high SCI [thoracic (Th)4 or higher]; low SCI (Th5 or lower) and severity (complete SCI; incomplete SCI), were compared with a reference group of vertebral fracture (VF) patients without SCI. The primary outcome was quantitative monocytic Human Leukocyte Antigen-DR expression (mHLA-DR, synonym MHC II), a validated marker for immune suppression in critically ill patients associated with infection susceptibility. mHLA-DR was assessed from Day 1 to 10 weeks after injury by applying standardized flow cytometry procedures. Secondary outcomes were leucocyte subpopulation counts, serum immunoglobulin levels and clinically defined infections. Linear mixed models with multiple imputation were applied to evaluate group differences of logarithmic-transformed parameters. Mean quantitative mHLA-DR [ln (antibodies/cell)] levels at the primary end point 84 h after injury indicated an immune suppressive state below the normative values of 9.62 in all groups, which further differed in its dimension by neurological level: high SCI [8.95 (98.3% confidence interval, CI: 8.63; 9.26), n = 41], low SCI [9.05 (98.3% CI: 8.73; 9.36), n = 29], and VF without SCI [9.25 (98.3% CI: 8.97; 9.53), n = 41, P = 0.003]. Post hoc analysis accounting for SCI severity revealed the strongest mHLA-DR decrease [8.79 (95% CI: 8.50; 9.08)] in the complete, high SCI group, further demonstrating delayed mHLA-DR recovery [9.08 (95% CI: 8.82; 9.38)] and showing a difference from the VF controls of -0.43 (95% CI: -0.66; -0.20) at 14 days. Complete, high SCI patients also revealed constantly lower serum immunoglobulin G [-0.27 (95% CI: -0.45; -0.10)] and immunoglobulin A [-0.25 (95% CI: -0.49; -0.01)] levels [ln (g/l × 1000)] up to 10 weeks after injury. Low mHLA-DR levels in the range of borderline immunoparalysis (below 9.21) were positively associated with the occurrence and earlier onset of infections, which is consistent with results from studies on stroke or major surgery. Spinal cord injured patients can acquire a secondary, neurogenic immune deficiency syndrome characterized by reduced mHLA-DR expression and relative hypogammaglobulinaemia (combined cellular and humoral immune deficiency). mHLA-DR expression provides a basis to stratify infection-risk in patients with SCI