Innovations for Insurers in Space Traffic Management and Weather Forecasting

Space activities are expanding. The number and types of actors who are involved with outer space is growing. This expansion has significant technological, environmental, and financial implications for the industry. After the research and development of a satellite itself and the provision of launch services, insurance is the third greatest expense to put a satellite into orbit. Though 95% of insured satellites in the last few years have been in geostationary orbit, the greater use of other Earth orbits is leading to an increase in demand for insurance in these orbits. There are a number of innovative actions that space insurers can take to both grow their business and ensure the sustainable development of the space industry. Insurers can purchase space traffic management services (for example, from ComSpOC) as a centralized point of contact for their insureds. With technical expertise, they can advise insureds regarding recommended debris avoidance maneuvers to mitigate risk. They can provide consultation on design and incentives for greater tracking and maneuvering capabilities to be installed on insured satellites. Insurers can also provide launch weather and space weather services to mitigate the risk of a claim. In this paper, I will discuss these options for space insurers. In doing so, I will analyze aspects of liability for space objects from a legal perspective, both under the international space law regime and in the United States in particular. The ultimate goal of the paper is to provide recommendations that can be implemented moving forward

The African Human Rights System: An Overview of the Admissibility of NGOS Applications Before the African Court

Rights are sacrosanct and one of the most cardinal functions/objectives of the African Union (AU), being a regional organization, is the protection of rights of citizens of member states. The African Court on Human and People\u27s Rights is the channel through which the African Union entertains and determines complaints of human rights in frin gements/abuses within the region. Among other categories of applicants, relevant NGOs can invoke the jurisdiction of the Court upon satisfaction requisite pre-conditions. Adopting a doctrinal approach, this paper seeks to shed light on the extent of the admissibility of applications by NGOs before the Court. This paper however finds that a number of genuine cases of human rights abuses risk being shut out within the present context. This paper concludes that the preconditions NGO applications are subjected to, are restrictive /limi ted. This paper therefore recommends that such conditions be reconsidered to allow a wider NGO access to the Court

Localized antibody responses in influenza virus-infected mice

The Abstracts of the Conference is located at: http://optionsviii.controlinfluenza.com/optionsviii/assets/File/Options_VIII_Abstracts_2013.pdfPoster Session: Innate and Adaptive ImmunityBackground: Traditionally, vaccine-mediated protective responses were quantified by measuring the level of increase of influenza virus–specific antibodies circulating in blood. However, virus-specific antibodies in serum do not necessarily correlate with protection in vaccinees receiving intranasally administrated live attenuated influenza vaccines (LAIVs). Local mucosal and cellular immune responses are believed to be the protective mechanism induced by LAIVs. Recently, antibody secreting cell (ASC) responses derived from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (Cherukuri A, et al. Vaccine. 2012;356:685-696) of ferrets and antibody obtained via human nasal washes, but not the systemic serum (Barria MI, et al. J Infect Dis. 2013;207:115-124), were found to better correlate with B-cell responses induced by LAIV. ASCs are found in the upper and lower respiratory tract in influenza infections and play an important role in combating influenza infections. Analyses of antigenspecific B-cell receptors on these ASCs were limited by cell-based assays such as ELISPOT or FACS probe by hapten or B-cell tetramers. Although the localized mucosal and systematic ASC responses of Influenza A virus–infected mice are different (Joo HM, et al. Vaccine. 2010;28:2186-2194), direct comparisons of antibodies secreted by ASCs at these locations are lacking. Here, we isolate antibodies secreted by ACSs at multiple anatomical sites and characterize the epitope specificity and other properties of these antibodies systematically. Materials and Methods: Mice intranasally infected with influenza virus (A/HK/68) were used as a model. Lymphocytes from different nodes (eg, cervical lymph nodes [CLNs], which drain the upper respiratory tract, and mediastinal lymph nodes [MLNs], which drain the lower respiratory tract) and from the spleen of infected mice were harvested for cell cultures at days 3, 7, and 28 post-infection. In addition, supernatants of nasal washes, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, and serum of the mice were harvested. Antibodies secreted by the cultured cells and antibody presented in the harvested body fluids were characterized by influenza A– specific isotyping ELISA, micro-neutralization assay, as well as fine epitope mapping assay using a yeast surface display library for H3 hemagglutinin. Results: Antibody in lymphocyte supernatants (ALS) from cultured cells of MLNs and spleen and antibody in serum were found to be positive for influenza virus–specific IgM at day 3 post-infection. Nasal washes, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, and ALS from CLNs and MLNs were found to be IgA-positive at day 7 post-infection. High IgG1 and IgG2a responses were detected in ALS from MLNs at day 7 post-infection. The control ALS from cells derived from iliac lymph nodes, which drain the mouse tail but not the respiratory tract, was negative for influenza-specific IgA, IgG1, IgG2a, and IgM throughout the study. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid collected at day 28 post-infection and ALS from MLNs collected at day 7 post-infection demonstrated of ALS from MLNs collected at day 7 and of serum collected at day 28 post-infection was also performed. The antibody repertoire mappings were comparable and both identified a major immunodominant antigenic site in HA1 and a weaker antigenic site located in HA2. However, two additional antigenic sites were identified in the mapping of ALS from MLNs collected at day 7 when compared with the mapping of the serum obtained at day 28 post-infection. Conclusions: This study illustrated the feasibility of recovering ASC specificity at different localizations after influenza A challenge. With the use of cell-free supernatant, the properties of the ASC-secreted antibodies can be further characterized by various methods traditionally used for serum. The method described will provide information about influenza A–induced antibody responses early post-infection, ie, at the time when the virus was cleared.published_or_final_versio

Ready, Set, and Go Back: The Role of the Judiciary in Brazil’s Bingo Ban

Brazil, the host of the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics, is known for strong competitive traditions in sports and games. It is also one of only three G-20 countries (together with Saudi Arabia and Indonesia) that currently bans non-state provision of gambling products. Bingo was a notable exception to this prohibition, after enabling legislation was enacted in 1993, with the intention that proceeds would help fund national sports development. The game quickly became very popular but there were persistent questions about, and contestations over, the capacity of the regulatory framework to control the dual risks of exploitation of bingo consumers, and corruption of politicians and public officials by bingo entrepreneurs. By the mid-2000s the enabling framework had been abandoned and the game returned to the domain of illegality. Brazilian judges played an active and prominent role in the regulation of bingo during the shifts from prohibition to legalisation and back to prohibition. This paper critically and contextually analyses the complexities of judicial engagement with bingo regulation, focusing in particular on the ways that Brazilian judges have deployed social, economic, and political considerations to justify both permission and prohibition of commercial bingo houses. Recognising that contradictory and incoherent judicial decision-making is not unique to bingo law, the paper seeks to understand how the judiciary contributes to the governance of gambling in a setting where corruption is constructed as endemic