The Erorsion of Refugee Rights in Australia: Two Proposed Amendments to the Migration Act

The Australian government has proposed two amendments to the Migration Act. The first excludes judicial review of administrative determinations in the immigration context. The second severely limits how and when detained refugees can access information regarding their rights as asylum seekers. Refugees arrive in Australia vulnerable and wholly ignorant of the legal system, and must make their claims for asylum in a politically hostile atmosphere. Current immigration laws protect the integrity of the system by making judicial review of immigration determinations possible in some cases and by giving refugees access to information on the refugee determination process. The proposed amendments will undermine the accuracy and effectiveness of Australia\u27s system for determining refugee status, which will inevitably lead to mistakes. Such mistakes will result in a violation of the refoulement principle, under which no refugee may be returned to any country where he or she is likely to face persecution or torture. The proposed amendments will weaken Australia\u27s refugee determination system and should be rejected

The Erorsion of Refugee Rights in Australia: Two Proposed Amendments to the Migration Act

The Australian government has proposed two amendments to the Migration Act. The first excludes judicial review of administrative determinations in the immigration context. The second severely limits how and when detained refugees can access information regarding their rights as asylum seekers. Refugees arrive in Australia vulnerable and wholly ignorant of the legal system, and must make their claims for asylum in a politically hostile atmosphere. Current immigration laws protect the integrity of the system by making judicial review of immigration determinations possible in some cases and by giving refugees access to information on the refugee determination process. The proposed amendments will undermine the accuracy and effectiveness of Australia\u27s system for determining refugee status, which will inevitably lead to mistakes. Such mistakes will result in a violation of the refoulement principle, under which no refugee may be returned to any country where he or she is likely to face persecution or torture. The proposed amendments will weaken Australia\u27s refugee determination system and should be rejected

The comparative biology of terns, sterna spp

Not availabl

Dimerization of Protegrin-1 in Different Environments

The dimerization of the cationic β-hairpin antimicrobial peptide protegrin-1 (PG1) is investigated in three different environments: water, the surface of a lipid bilayer membrane, and the core of the membrane. PG1 is known to kill bacteria by forming oligomeric membrane pores, which permeabilize the cells. PG1 dimers are found in two distinct, parallel and antiparallel, conformations, known as important intermediate structural units of the active pore oligomers. What is not clear is the sequence of events from PG1 monomers in solution to pores inside membranes. The step we focus on in this work is the dimerization of PG1. In particular, we are interested in determining where PG1 dimerization is most favorable. We use extensive molecular dynamics simulations to determine the potential of mean force as a function of distance between two PG1 monomers in the aqueous subphase, the surface of model lipid bilayers and the interior of these bilayers. We investigate the two known distinct modes of dimerization that result in either a parallel or an antiparallel β-sheet orientation. The model bilayer membranes are composed of anionic palmitoyl-oleoyl-phosphatidylglycerol (POPG) and palmitoyl-oleoyl-phosphatidylethanolamine (POPE) in a 1:3 ratio (POPG:POPE). We find the parallel PG1 dimer association to be more favorable than the antiparallel one in water and inside the membrane. However, we observe that the antiparallel PG1 β-sheet dimer conformation is somewhat more stable than the parallel dimer association at the surface of the membrane. We explore the role of hydrogen bonds and ionic bridges in peptide dimerization in the three environments. Detailed knowledge of how networks of ionic bridges and hydrogen bonds contribute to peptide stability is essential for the purpose of understanding the mechanism of action for membrane-active peptides as well as for designing peptides which can modulate membrane properties. The findings are suggestive of the dominant pathways leading from individual PG1 molecules in solution to functional pores in bacterial membranes

Prevalence and treatment patterns of psoriatic arthritis in the UK.

OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of PsA in The Health Improvement Network (THIN), a large population-based medical records database in the UK, to examine factors associated with prevalent PsA among patients with psoriasis and to describe the use of DMARDs in patients with PsA. METHODS: Two cohorts were derived from THIN to examine the prevalence of PsA in a cross-sectional study among all patients aged 18-90 years and among a subcohort of 4900 psoriasis patients aged 45-65 years. Prescription codes were used to describe therapies after the diagnosis of PsA. Associations for prevalent PsA among psoriasis patients were assessed using logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Among 4.8 million patients in THIN between the ages of 18 and 90 years, 9045 patients had at least one medical code for PsA, giving an overall prevalence of 0.19% (95% CI 0.19%, 0.19%). Of those patients, 45.9% with PsA have been prescribed DMARDs. Among the 4064 confirmed psoriasis patients, the prevalence of PsA was 8.6% (95% CI 7.7%, 9.5%). PsA was more prevalent among patients with severe psoriasis [odds ratio (OR) 3.34; 95% CI 2.40, 4.65], obesity (OR 1.77; 95% CI 1.30, 2.41) and duration of psoriasis for ≥10 years (OR 7.42; 95% CI 3.86, 14.25) in the fully adjusted model. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of PsA in THIN is consistent with previous population-based estimates. Limitations include a definition of PsA based on a diagnostic code rather than Classification Criteria for Psoriatic Arthritis (CASPAR) criteria. Given the large population of PsA patients, THIN is an important resource for the study of PsA