The characterisation of armed conflict and targeted killing of suspected terrorists under international humanitarian law: reflections on the future of Jus in Bello

The use of drones for the targeted killing of suspected terrorists has raised a number of complex legal issues for scholars and practitioners in field of international law. This paper will focus on the applicability of international humanitarian law in such situations and the characterisation of drone warfare as armed conflict. In this context, the scope of armed conflict as a concept of international humanitarian law will be explored. In doing so, emphasis will be placed on the need for accountability to ensure greater compliance with international law

In vivo evaluation of ziram induced acute toxicity on pathomorphology of broiler chicken

Fungicides are usually used in agriculture and often find their way in poultry feed. Therefore, a study was undertaken to study the in vivo effect of one such fungicide (ziram) induced intoxication on pathomorphology of broiler chicken. After 2 weeks of age the birds were given fungicide (Ziram) in feed as a single oral dose of 100 mg/kg body weight. Out of 10 birds, 3 died due to ziram intoxication (30% mortality rate). Birds that died rapidly showed pronounced neurological signs like convulsions. The carcasses of ziram intoxicated birds appeared dehydrated and their mucous membrane was pale in colour. Marked vascular congestion was observed in brain on gross examination. The livers showed congestion and haemorrhages with necrotic foci. Kidneys and lungs had ecchymotic haemorrhages and heart revealed gelatinization of pericardium, distention and pericarditis. Atrophy of bursa of Fabricius and thymus; hypertrophy of thyroid was found. Histopathological examination revealed neuronal degeneration and necrosis associated with mild gliosis in brain. Lungs, pericardium and epicardium had severe congestion and there was degeneration with separation of myofibers. Glomeruli were congested and frequently revealed hypercellularity. There were sinusoidal congestion and varying degrees of hepatocellular degeneration. Bursa revealed mild depletion of lymphoid cells in few lobules while as thymus showed hypoplasia with depletion of lymphocytes. Thyroid had mild mononuclear cell infiltration and caecum showed marked necrosis and denudation of the mucosa. In conclusion, the depletion of lymphoid tissue from lymphoid organs was suggestive of immunosuppressive and immunomodulatory effects of ziram toxicity in broiler chicken

Extraterritorial Effects of Foreign Tax Credit, Termination of Deferral and United States Tax Characterization

WOS: 00029324880011

The genetics of intellectual disability: advancing technology and gene editing [version 1; peer review: 2 approved]

Intellectual disability (ID) is a neurodevelopmental condition affecting 1–3% of the world’s population. Genetic factors play a key role causing the congenital limitations in intellectual functioning and adaptive behavior. The heterogeneity of ID makes it more challenging for genetic and clinical diagnosis, but the advent of large-scale genome sequencing projects in a trio approach has proven very effective. However, many variants are still difficult to interpret. A combined approach of next-generation sequencing and functional, electrophysiological, and bioinformatics analysis has identified new ways to understand the causes of ID and help to interpret novel ID-causing genes. This approach offers new targets for ID therapy and increases the efficiency of ID diagnosis. The most recent functional advancements and new gene editing techniques involving the use of CRISPR–Cas9 allow for targeted editing of DNA in in vitro and more effective mammalian and human tissue-derived disease models. The expansion of genomic analysis of ID patients in diverse and ancient populations can reveal rare novel disease-causing genes

The Crack Development Due to Liquefaction of Sand Lenses During Earthquake Loading

The failure of sand lenses during earthquake loadings has caused many damages to the ground and yet its mechanism has not been investigated extensively. In this paper the results of an analytical studies involving the mechanism of crack development of a sand lens due to liquefaction, are presented. A single loose and saturated sand lens embedded inside a stiff clay deposit, which will liquefy due to the earthquake loading, is modeled by finite element method. The principles of fracture mechanics were used and the soil behavior was considered as a non-linear elasto-plastic material. The computer package of NISA was used and the failure mechanism of the lens was analysed by this package. Finally, the crack development and the angle of developed crack from the tip of the lens to the horizontal was calculated and discussed

Evaluation of some potential silkworm Bombyx mori L. genotypes during different seasons under temperate conditions

In the present study twelve potential bivoltine silkworm Bombyx mori L. genotypes were evaluated for their performance at 25±1 0C temperature and 75±5 % relative humidity for twelve different traits during spring and summer seasons of 2012 and 2013, respectively. The data generated in respect of different traits was pooled separately, analyzed statistically and subjected to multiple trait evaluation indexes. The genotypes were ranked as per the cumulative score and the value of a particular trait in a particular genotype was compared with the ranking. Out of twelve genotypes, six genotypes viz., SKAU-R-1, SKAU-R-6, SKUAST-31, NB4D2, SH6 and SKUAST-28 were shortlisted for spring season and eight genotypes viz., SKAU-R-1, SKAU-R-6, NB4D2, SH6, SKUAST-31, CSR18, DUN6 and DUN22 for summer season. These genotypes scored higher E I values (>50) and were identified as promising genotypes hence recommended for rearing under temperate climatic conditions to push up silk productivity in the valley. Furthermore, the genotypes viz., SKAU-R-1, SKAU-R-6, SKUAST-31, NB4D2, SH6, and DUN6 performed significantly better irrespective of the seasons and scored higher E I. values (>50). Hence, these genotypes can be recommended for both seasons to boost bivoltine silk production in temperate region

CatSper ion channels: Bioinformatics analysis in Homo sapiens

Due to the availability of huge amount of molecular biology data, our main focus was to determine the protein structures, functions and their role in different molecular pathways. The 3-D structure prediction of protein is important in medicine and biotechnology. Molecular docking not only finds the interaction between proteins but also the accurate models of energy of these interacting proteins and helps in further designing of the better drug for that particular protein. The drug targeting is either to inhibit, restore or for the modification of the protein structure. CatSper protein family is calcium ion permeable channels, located in the plasma membrane of sperm tail. It contains a conserved domain of six transmembrane helices in their protein sequence. These four CatSper proteins (1 to 4) assemble and form tetramer, calcium selective channel. It has been found that all members of CatSper protein family (1-4) have a role in hyperactivation in sperm and fertilization processes. As a result of deletion of certain regions (bps) containing these genes along with some other genes, male infertility occurs. We have predicted and analyzed the 3D structures of all members of CatSper protein family in this article. Docking of predicted 3D structures of CatSper protein family, with calcium ion was also performed to verify their interactions.Key words: CatSper, bioinformatics analysis, infertility, cation channel

Unstable Disk Galaxies. II. the Origin of Growing and Stationary Modes

I decompose the unstable growing modes of stellar disks to their Fourier components and present the physical mechanism of instabilities in the context of resonances. When the equilibrium distribution function is a non-uniform function of the orbital angular momentum, the capture of stars into the corotation resonance imbalances the disk angular momentum and triggers growing bar and spiral modes. The stellar disk can then recover its angular momentum balance through the response of non-resonant stars. I carry out a complete analysis of orbital structure corresponding to each Fourier component in the radial angle, and present a mathematical condition for the occurrence of van Kampen modes, which constitute a continuous family. I discuss on the discreteness and allowable pattern speeds of unstable modes and argue that the mode growth is saturated due to the resonance overlapping mechanism. An individually growing mode can also be suppressed if the corotation and inner Lindblad resonances coexist and compete to capture a group of stars. Based on this mechanism, I show that self-consistent scale-free disks with a sufficient distribution of non-circular orbits should be stable under perturbations of angular wavenumber $m>1$. I also derive a criterion for the stability of stellar disks against non-axisymmetric excitations.Comment: 15 Pages (emulateapj), 7 Figures, Accepted for Publication in The Astrophysical Journa