Beyond Traditional Notions of Transitional Justice: How Trials, Truth Commissions, and Other Tools for Accountability Can and Should Work Together

Civil conflicts marked by human rights violations leave devastated communities in their wake. The international community has an interest in assuring that justice is done, an interest which the recent establishment of the International Criminal Court (ICC) confirms. The authors argue the ICC should be augmented by additional mechanisms to bear the burden of doing justice and reconstructing communities after such civil conflicts. This Article explores the potential tensions among such mechanisms, including national human rights trials, truth commissions, and community-based gacaca, and emphasizes the importance of consult-ing victims in resolving these tensions. The authors conclude that the ICC should take the lead in coordinating the different mechanisms discussed in the Article as part of post-conflict reconstruction

Investigating intra-host and intra-herd sequence diversity of foot-and-mouth disease virus

Due to the poor-fidelity of the enzymes involved in RNA genome replication, foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) virus samples comprise of unique polymorphic populations. In this study, deep sequencing was utilised to characterise the diversity of FMD virus (FMDV) populations in 6 infected cattle present on a single farm during the series of outbreaks in the UK in 2007. A novel RT–PCR method was developed to amplify a 7.6 kb nucleotide fragment encompassing the polyprotein coding region of the FMDV genome. Illumina sequencing of each sample identified the fine polymorphic structures at each nucleotide position, from consensus level changes to variants present at a 0.24% frequency. These data were used to investigate population dynamics of FMDV at both herd and host levels, evaluate the impact of host on the viral swarm structure and to identify transmission links with viruses recovered from other farms in the same series of outbreaks. In 7 samples, from 6 different animals, a total of 5 consensus level variants were identified, in addition to 104 sub-consensus variants of which 22 were shared between 2 or more animals. Further analysis revealed differences in swarm structures from samples derived from the same animal suggesting the presence of distinct viral populations evolving independently at different lesion sites within the same infected animal

Najas flexilis (Hydrocharitaceae) in Alaska : a reassessment

Author Posting. © New England Botanical Club, 2015. This article is posted here by permission of New England Botanical Club for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Rhorora 117 (2015): 354-370, doi:10.3119/15-03.Fifteen Najas flexilis collections were made in Alaska during the summer of 2012, with 13 of the stations representing either new or formerly undocumented localities for this imperiled Alaskan species. These field collections characterize the Alaskan habitats of N. flexilis as shallow water sites (<1.5 m) with sand-dominated substrates (71% of sites) and have documented an additional 28 species associates (a 300% increase). However, the additional collections have not extended the elevational, latitudinal, or longitudinal extent of N. flexilis from the limits indicated by previous Alaskan collections. Najas flexilis remains rare in Alaska as evidenced by a low specimen recovery rate (10%) from potentially suitable sites, and a total of only 12 geographically distinct localities known across the entire state. The new collections have furnished valuable study material for morphological and genetic analyses, which have confirmed the identity of Alaskan populations as N. flexilis, rather than N. canadensis, a recently identified, cryptic, allotetraploid derivative. A synthesis of information indicates that N. flexilis is indigenous to Alaska, where it originated via past (versus recent) migrations from other North American rather than Old World populations.Portions of this work were funded by National Science Foundation grant DEB-0841658 to D.H.L

Recovery of viral RNA and infectious foot-and-mouth disease virus from positive lateral-flow devices

Foot-and-mouth disease Virus (FMDV) is an economically important, highly contagious picornavirus that affects both wild and domesticated cloven hooved animals. In developing countries, the effective laboratory diagnosis of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is often hindered by inadequate sample preservation due to difficulties in the transportation and storage of clinical material. These factors can compromise the ability to detect and characterise FMD virus in countries where the disease is endemic. Furthermore, the high cost of sending infectious virus material and the biosecurity risk it presents emphasises the need for a thermo-stable, non-infectious mode of transporting diagnostic samples. This paper investigates the potential of using FMDV lateral-flow devices (LFDs) for dry transportation of clinical samples for subsequent nucleic acid amplification, sequencing and recovery of infectious virus by electroporation. FMDV positive samples (epithelial suspensions and cell culture isolates) representing four FMDV serotypes were applied to antigen LFDs: after which it was possible to recover viral RNA that could be detected using real-time RT-PCR. Using this nucleic acid, it was also possible to recover VP1 sequences and also successfully utilise protocols for amplification of complete FMD virus genomes. It was not possible to recover infectious FMDV directly from the LFDs, however following electroporation into BHK-21 cells and subsequent cell passage, infectious virus could be recovered. Therefore, these results support the use of the antigen LFD for the dry, non-hazardous transportation of samples from FMD endemic countries to international reference laboratories

GoPrime: development of an in silico framework to predict the performance of real-time PCR primers and probes using foot-and-mouth disease virus as a model

Real-time PCR (rPCR) is a widely accepted diagnostic tool for the detection and quantification of nucleic acid targets. In order for these assays to achieve high sensitivity and specificity, primer and probe-template complementarity is essential; however, mismatches are often unavoidable and can result in false-negative results and errors in quantifying target sequences. Primer and probe sequences therefore require continual evaluation to ensure they remain fit for purpose. This paper describes the development of a linear model and associated computational tool (GoPrime) designed to predict the performance of rPCR primers and probes across multiple sequence data. Empirical data were generated using DNA oligonucleotides (n = 90) that systematically introduced variation in the primer and probe target regions of a diagnostic assay routinely used to detect foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV); an animal virus that exhibits a high degree of sequence variability. These assays revealed consistent impacts of patterns of substitutions in primer and probe-sites on rPCR cycle threshold (CT) and limit of detection (LOD). These data were used to populate GoPrime, which was subsequently used to predict rPCR results for DNA templates (n = 7) representing the natural sequence variability within FMDV. GoPrime was also applicable to other areas of the FMDV genome, with predictions for the likely targets of a FMDV-typing assay consistent with published experimental data. Although further work is required to improve these tools, including assessing the impact of primer-template mismatches in the reverse transcription step and the broader impact of mismatches for other assays, these data support the use of mathematical models for rapidly predicting the performance of rPCR primers and probes in silico

Comparison of two- and three-dimensional echocardiography with cineventriculography for measurement of left ventricular volume in patients

AbstractObjectives. We compared two- and three-dimensional echocardiopaphy with cineventriculography for measurement of left ventricular volume in patients.Background. Three-dimensional echocardiography has been shown to be highly accurate and superior to two-dimensional echocardiography in measuring left ventricular volume in vitro. However, there has been little comparison of the two methods in patients.Methods. Two- and three-dimensional echocardiography were performed in 35 patients (mean age 48 years) 1 to 3 h before left ventricular cineventriculography. Three-dimensional echocardiography used an acoustic spatial locator to register image position. Volume was computed using a polyhedral surface reconstruction algorithm based on multiple nonparallel, unevenly spaced short-axis cross sections. Two-dimensional echocardiography used the apical biplane summation of disks method. Single-plane cineventriculographic volumes were calculated using the summation of disks algorithm. The methods were compared by linear regression and a limits of agreement analysis. For the latter, systematic error was assessed by the mean of the deferences (cineventriculography minus echocardiography), and the limits of agreement were defined as ±2 SD from the mean difference.Results. Three-dimensional echocardiographic volumes demonstrated excellent correlation (end-diastole r = 0.97; end-systole r = 0.98) with cineventriculography. Standard errors of the estimate were approximately half those of two-dimensional echocardiography (end-diastole ±11.0 ml vs. ±21.5 ml; end-systole ±10.2 ml vs. ±17.0 ml). By limits of agreement analysis the end-diastolic mean diferences for two- and three-dimensional echocardiography were 21.1 and 12.9 ml, respectively. The limits of agreement (±2 SD) were ±54.0 and ±24.8 ml, respectively. For end-systole, comparable improvement was obtained by three-dimensional echocardiography. Results for ejection fraction by the two methods were similar.Conclusions. Three-dimensional echocardiography correlates highly with cineventriculography for estimation of ventricular volumes in patients and has approximately half the variability of two-dimensional echocardiography for these measurements. On the basis of this study, three-dimensional echocardiography is the preferred echocardiographic technique for measurement of ventricular volume. Three-dimensional echocardiography is equivalent to two-dimensional echocardiography for measuring ejection fraction

Aquilegia, Vol. 19 No. 4, October-December 1995: Newsletter of the Colorado Native Plant Society

https://epublications.regis.edu/aquilegia/1077/thumbnail.jp