122 research outputs found
Discussions Regarding the Invalidity of States’ Consent in the Field of Public International Law
This article aims at a comparative analysis of the invalidity of states’ consent and examines the manner in which they are regulated in the Public International Law and in the domestic law. Thus, according to the dispositions of the Vienna Convention (1969) on the law of treaties between states, invalidity of states’ consent are: breach of the dispositions of the domestic law of the state regarding the competence to sign treaties; the error; the fraud; the corruption of a state representative; the coercion of a state representative; the coercion against a state. The invalidity of states’ consent are sanctioned both in the matter of the Public International Law as well as in the domestic civil law by nullity, either absolute (such as the coercion exercised on the state representative and the coercion against a state) or relative (such as the breach of the dispositions of the domestic law of the state regarding the competence to sign treaties, the error, the fraud or the corruption of a state representative). In certain cases, the dispositions of the domestic law are fully mirrored by the regulations of the Vienna Convention, as is the case of the fraud, but there are also cases – the breach of the dispositions of the domestic law of the state regarding the competence to sign treaties – where the Vienna Convention introduces a disposition which flagrantly contradicts the civil theory in the matter, the state being able to invoke itself the defect in its consent. At the same time, in the domestic civil law, the rule according to which no one can invoke his/her own turpitude is widely sanctioned. We conclude by showing that the manner of regulation of nullity taken over from the domestic civil law and transposed in the dispositions of the Vienna Convention fails to meet the exigencies and rigors of the definition of nullity.Public International Law, civil law, Vienna Convention
Spectral Variability from the Patchy Atmospheres of T and Y Dwarfs
Brown dwarfs of a variety of spectral types have been observed to be
photometrically variable. Previous studies have focused on objects at the L/T
transition, where the iron and silicate clouds in L dwarfs break up or
dissipate. However, objects outside of this transitional effective temperature
regime also exhibit variability. Here, we present models for mid-late T dwarfs
and Y dwarfs. We present models that include patchy salt and sulfide clouds as
well as water clouds for the Y dwarfs. We find that for objects over 375 K,
patchy cloud opacity would generate the largest amplitude variability within
near-infrared spectral windows. For objects under 375 K, water clouds also
become important and generate larger amplitude variability in the mid-infrared.
We also present models in which we perturb the temperature structure at
different pressure levels of the atmosphere to simulate hot spots. These models
show the most variability in the absorption features between spectral windows.
The variability is strongest at wavelengths that probe pressure levels at which
the heating is the strongest. The most illustrative types of observations for
understanding the physical processes underlying brown dwarf variability are
simultaneous, multi-wavelength observations that probe both inside and outside
of molecular absorption features.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, Accepted for publication in ApJ Letter
ROS-mediated Cytotoxicity and Macrophage Activation Induced by TiO2 Nanoparticles with Different in vitro Non-Cellular Photocatalytic Activities
AIM: The aim of the study described in the present paper was to assess several in vitro effects of TiO2 nanoparticles with different colloidal and photocatalytic properties on RAW 264.7 macrophages.METHODS: The cells were exposed to Degussa P25 titania and two other types of nanoparticles synthesized by a hydrothermal procedure in our laboratory: undoped and Fe3+-doped TiO2. Compared to Degussa P25, the hydrothermal nanomaterials were significantly less active in inducing cytotoxicity, production of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and release of pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6). The induced effects were analysed with respect to nanoparticle size, surface charge, hydrophilicity, semiconductor bandgap energy and photocatalytic generation of ROS under non-cellular conditions.RESULTS: The overall results indicated that TiO2 nanoparticles with higher surface charge, hydrophilic surfaces and enhanced photocatalytic properties may preferentially induce macrophage cell damage and inflammation compared to other TiO2 nanomaterials.CONCLUSION: The present findings are relevant for studies regarding the evaluation of risks raised by self-cleaning technologies involving nanosized hydrophilic TiO2 photocatalysts as well as development of synthesis methods optimized for producing biocompatible TiO2 nanomaterials
Water Clouds in Y Dwarfs and Exoplanets
The formation of clouds affects brown dwarf and planetary atmospheres of
nearly all effective temperatures. Iron and silicate condense in L dwarf
atmospheres and dissipate at the L/T transition. Minor species such as sulfides
and salts condense in mid-late T dwarfs. For brown dwarfs below Teff=450 K,
water condenses in the upper atmosphere to form ice clouds. Currently over a
dozen objects in this temperature range have been discovered, and few previous
theoretical studies have addressed the effect of water clouds on brown dwarf or
exoplanetary spectra. Here we present a new grid of models that include the
effect of water cloud opacity. We find that they become optically thick in
objects below Teff=350-375 K. Unlike refractory cloud materials, water ice
particles are significantly non-gray absorbers; they predominantly scatter at
optical wavelengths through J band and absorb in the infrared with prominent
features, the strongest of which is at 2.8 microns. H2O, NH3, CH4, and H2 CIA
are dominant opacity sources; less abundant species such as may also be
detectable, including the alkalis, H2S, and PH3. PH3, which has been detected
in Jupiter, is expected to have a strong signature in the mid-infrared at 4.3
microns in Y dwarfs around Teff=450 K; if disequilibrium chemistry increases
the abundance of PH3, it may be detectable over a wider effective temperature
range than models predict. We show results incorporating disequilibrium
nitrogen and carbon chemistry and predict signatures of low gravity in
planetary- mass objects. Lastly, we make predictions for the observability of Y
dwarfs and planets with existing and future instruments including the James
Webb Space Telescope and Gemini Planet Imager.Comment: 23 pages, 20 figures, Revised for Ap
The First Spectrum of the Coldest Brown Dwarf
The recently discovered brown dwarf WISE 0855 presents our first opportunity
to directly study an object outside the Solar System that is nearly as cold as
our own gas giant planets. However the traditional methodology for
characterizing brown dwarfs---near infrared spectroscopy---is not currently
feasible as WISE 0855 is too cold and faint. To characterize this frozen
extrasolar world we obtained a 4.5-5.2 m spectrum, the same bandpass long
used to study Jupiter's deep thermal emission. Our spectrum reveals the
presence of atmospheric water vapor and clouds, with an absorption profile that
is strikingly similar to Jupiter. The spectrum is high enough quality to allow
the investigation of dynamical and chemical processes that have long been
studied in Jupiter's atmosphere, but now on an extrasolar world.Comment: submitted to ApJ
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