No huir de los tratados

The author analyses the decision made by the Supreme Court of Argentina of not complying with the mandate of the Interamerican Human Rights Court in the Fontevecchia vs. Argentina case regarding the overruling of a previous case decided by the national tribunal concerning the violation of the claimant's right to freedom of speech. The author's criticism to the Supreme Court's decision focuses on the fact that it disregarded the relevance and binding character of the decisions made by the Interamerican Human Rights Court for the States signatories of the Interamerican Human Rights Convention. Drawing from academic works of the Justices that were part of the majority, the author points out to the main critical aspects of their perspectives such as a mistaken conception of political community and interpretative community that they defend. Saba also applies the notion of law as integrity to suggest a possible alternative solution for the interpretative dispute between national and international tribunals arguing in favor of the importance of judicial dialogue as a means for identifying the meaning of fundamental rights and principles established in the Constitution and in the international treaties of human rights.Fil: Saba, Roberto P. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Derecho. Cátedra Derecho Constitucional y Derechos Humanos. Buenos Aires, ArgentinaDossier "Algunas miradas sobre la Constitución y el Derecho Internacional". El autor analiza la decisión de la Corte Suprema de Justicia de la Argentina de no cumplir con el mandato de la Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos en el Caso Fontevecchia vs. Argentina en lo que concierne a la anulación de una sentencia del tribunal nacional que afectaba el derecho a la libertad de expresión del denunciante. La posición crítica del autor a la posición de la Corte Suprema se centra en torno a que esta ha soslayado la relevancia y el carácter vinculante de las decisiones de la Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos respecto de los Estados firmantes de la Convención Americana sobre Derechos Humanos. A partir del estudio de trabajos académicos de los magistrados que tomaron la decisión, el autor señala aspectos problemáticos de las posturas allí desarrolladas como, por ejemplo, una visión errónea del concepto de comunidad política y de comunidad interpretativa. También aplica la noción de derecho como integridad para sugerir una posible solución alternativa a la disputa interpretativa entre tribunales internacionales y tribunales nacionales señalando la importancia del diálogo jurisdiccional como medio para identificar el significado de los principios y derechos fundamentales expresados en la Constitución Nacional y los tratados internacionales de derechos humanos

Igualdad de trato entre particulares

The present paper analyses the existence and scope of positive and negative\nobligations on behalf of the State that tend to protect equality before the law against\npractises based in the exercise of personal autonomy. In doing so the author adopts\nthe specific perspective of freedom of association and contract. The conflict that could\narise between the constitutional principles of equality - both as non-discrimination and\nas non-submission - and the exercise of autonomy are defined and examined, to which\nend their concepts are determined. It is with this purpose in mind that the article delves\nparticularly, on the one side, on the negative aspect of right of association, meaning\nthe possibility of refusing to associate with someone. Likewise, where freedom of\ncontract is concerned, the author focuses on the State's capacity to restrict it with the\naim of protecting the right to equality, providing a special treatment in light of police\nand emergency powerFil: Saba, Roberto P. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Derecho; ArgentinaEn el presente trabajo se analiza, desde la óptica específica de las libertades\nde asociarse y contratar, la existencia y el alcance de obligaciones -positivas y negativas - por parte del Estado que tienden a proteger el derecho a la igualdad ante la ley\nde las personas frente a prácticas particulares fundadas en el ejercicio de la autonomía\npersonal. El autor define y examina el posible conflicto que podría surgir entre los\nprincipios de igualdad - en su doble faz, igualdad como no-discriminación e igualdad\ncomo no-sometimiento - y el ejercicio de la autonomía, principios consagrados en la\nConstitución, para lo cual determina su contenido conceptual. Con este propósito, por\nun lado indaga, particularmente, sobre la faz negativa del derecho de asociación, es\ndecir, la posibilidad de negarse a asociarse con alguien. Asimismo, en lo que refiere al\nderecho de contratar libremente, el autor se concentra en la posibilidad, por parte del\nEstado, de restringirlo con el fin de proteger el derecho a la igualdad de trato, otorgándole\nun enfoque especial al analizarlo a la luz del poder de policía y la emergenci

As praças comerciais do Império e a aprovação do Código Comercial Brasileiro na Câmara dos Deputados

Durante a década de 1840, a Câmara dos Deputados do Império estabeleceu um intenso diálogo com as mais importantes associações comerciais brasileiras. Um dos objetos centrais deste diálogo foi o projeto do Código Comercial, elaborado no ano de 1834 por ilustres negociantes e jurisconsultos. Com a finalidade de racionalizar a atividade comercial no Brasil, adquirindo maiores garantias para os seus negócios, os comerciantes brasileiros fizeram uso do direito de petição, previsto pela Constituição do Império, para influenciar os representantes da nação a aprovarem o Código. Finalmente, em 1850, ele foi aprovado, dando maior estabilidade ao comércio nacional e delegando aos grandes comerciantes a resolução das contendas mercantis.During the 1840s, the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies was engaged in a dialogue with the most important commercial associations of the Empire. The subject of this dialogue was a law project establishing a Commercial Code that had been idealized in 1834 by a group of distinguished businessmen and jurists. The main goal of the Code was to regulate and protect commercial relations in the Empire. In order to influence the representatives of the nation to support the project, Brazilian businessmen used the right of petition, guaranteed by the Constitution. Finally, by 1850, the Code was adopted, giving warranties to businessmen in Brazil and providing them the power to make decisions concerning commercial conflicts

Preclinical atherosclerosis, metabolic syndrome and risk of cardiovascular events

Atherosclerotic disease is a chronic disorder developing insidiously throughout the life and usually progressing to an advanced stage by the time symptoms occur. In order to realize cardiovascular (CV) prevention, the detection of asymptomatic but diseased patients is crucial for an early intervention, since in these subjects there are opportunities to alter the progression of disease and the outcome (1). However, the simply analysis of risk factors don’t permits to identify always these subjects since it doesn’t informs about the effect that risk factors (RF) had already provoked and may more provoke on the individual vasculature. Besides, the risk factors known predict can explain only the 90 percent of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and traditional algorithms for prediction of CV risk failed to predict a proportion of cardiovascular events (CVE), realizing a “risk factors prediction gap” (2). It may be explained by several reasons: the epidemiology-derived models, based on the prediction of long-term risk, may not accurately predict short-term events, they don’t take into consideration emerging and novel risk factors; risk algorithms don’t identify, among patients with neither a previous history of CVD nor an high risk for atherosclerotic disease, those who will develop acute myocardial infarction and/or sudden coronary death as first CVD manifestation, and this may be due to the fact that the factors responsible of plaque formation and growth are not necessarily the same responsible of its instability and rupture, being the latter related to inflammation, thrombosis and plaque morphology (3).So, a possible approach to evaluate the individual global cardiovascular risk with more accurateness is to identify risk factors combination that more easily produces vascular damage, or alternatively, to evaluate directly the arterial wall and its damage degree. The former approach is performed by the evaluation of metabolic syndrome, the latter by the non-invasive study of pre-ATS markers

Iodotyrosines are biomarkers for preclinical stages of iodine-deficient hypothyroidism in Dehal1 knockout mice

BACKGROUND: Iodine is required for the synthesis of thyroid hormone (TH), but its natural availability is limited. Dehalogenase1 (Dehal1) recycles iodine from mono- and di-iodotyrosines (MIT, DIT) to sustain TH synthesis when iodine supplies are scarce, but its role in the dynamics of storage and conservation of iodine is unknown. METHODS: Dehal1 knockout mice (Dehal1KO) were generated by gene-trapping and the timing of expression and distribution was investigated by X-Gal staining and immunofluorescence using recombinant Dehal1-Betagalactosidase protein produced in fetuses and adult mice. Adult Dehal1KO and wild-type (Wt) animals were fed normal and iodine-deficient diets for 1 month and plasma, urine, and tissues were isolated for analyses. TH status was monitored including T4, T3, MIT, DIT, and urinary iodine concentration using a novel LC-MS-MS method and the Sandell-Kolthoff (S-K) technique throughout the experimental period. RESULTS: Dehal1 is highly expressed in the thyroid, is also present in kidneys, liver, and, unexpectedly, the choroid plexus. In vivo transcription of Dehal1 was induced by iodine deficiency only in the thyroid tissue. Under normal iodine intake, Dehal1KO mice were euthyroid but they showed negative iodine balance due to a continuous loss of iodotyrosines in the urine. Counter-intuitively, the urinary iodine concentration of Dehal1KO mice is two-fold higher than in Wt mice, indicating S-K measures both inorganic and organic iodine. Under iodine restriction, Dehal1KO mice rapidly develop profound hypothyroidism while Wt mice remain euthyroid, suggesting reduced retention of iodine in Dehal1KO mice. Urinary and plasma iodotyrosines were continually elevated throughout their life cycle, including the neonatal period, when pups are still euthyroid. CONCLUSIONS: Plasma and urine iodotyrosine elevation occurs in Dehal1-deficient mice throughout life. Therefore, measurement of iodotyrosines predicts an eventual iodine shortage and development of hypothyroidism in the pre-clinical phase. The prompt establishment of hypothyroidism upon the start of iodine restriction suggests that Dehal1KO mice have low iodine reserves in their thyroid glands, pointing to defective capacity for iodine storage

Study protocol for the multicentre cohorts of Zika virus infection in pregnant women, infants, and acute clinical cases in Latin America and the Caribbean: The ZIKAlliance consortium

Background: The European Commission (EC) Horizon 2020 (H2020)-funded ZIKAlliance Consortium designed a multicentre study including pregnant women (PW), children (CH) and natural history (NH) cohorts. Clinical sites were selected over a wide geographic range within Latin America and the Caribbean, taking into account the dynamic course of the ZIKV epidemic. Methods: Recruitment to the PW cohort will take place in antenatal care clinics. PW will be enrolled regardless of symptoms and followed over the course of pregnancy, approximately every 4 weeks. PW will be revisited at delivery (or after miscarriage/abortion) to assess birth outcomes, including microcephaly and other congenital abnormalities according to the evolving definition of congenital Zika syndrome (CZS). After birth, children will be followed for 2 years in the CH cohort. Follow-up visits are scheduled at ages 1-3, 4-6, 12, and 24 months to assess neurocognitive and developmental milestones. In addition, a NH cohort for the characterization of symptomatic rash/fever illness was designed, including follow-up to capture persisting health problems. Blood, urine, and other biological materials will be collected, and tested for ZIKV and other relevant arboviral diseases (dengue, chikungunya, yellow fever) using RT-PCR or serological methods. A virtual, decentralized biobank will be created. Reciprocal clinical monitoring has been established between partner sites. Substudies of ZIKV seroprevalence, transmissio

Glia-to-neuron transfer of miRNAs via extracellular vesicles: a new mechanism underlying inflammation-induced synaptic alterations

Recent evidence indicates synaptic dysfunction as an early mechanism affected in neuroinflammatory diseases, such as multiple sclerosis, which are characterized by chronic microglia activation. However, the mode(s) of action of reactive microglia in causing synaptic defects are not fully understood. In this study, we show that inflammatory microglia produce extracellular vesicles (EVs) which are enriched in a set of miRNAs that regulate the expression of key synaptic proteins. Among them, miR-146a-5p, a microglia-specific miRNA not present in hippocampal neurons, controls the expression of presynaptic synaptotagmin1 (Syt1) and postsynaptic neuroligin1 (Nlg1), an adhesion protein which play a crucial role in dendritic spine formation and synaptic stability. Using a Renilla-based sensor, we provide formal proof that inflammatory EVs transfer their miR-146a-5p cargo to neuron. By western blot and immunofluorescence analysis we show that vesicular miR-146a-5p suppresses Syt1 and Nlg1 expression in receiving neurons. Microglia-to-neuron miR-146a-5p transfer and Syt1 and Nlg1 downregulation do not occur when EV\ue2\u80\u93neuron contact is inhibited by cloaking vesicular phosphatidylserine residues and when neurons are exposed to EVs either depleted of miR-146a-5p, produced by pro-regenerative microglia, or storing inactive miR-146a-5p, produced by cells transfected with an anti-miR-146a-5p. Morphological analysis reveals that prolonged exposure to inflammatory EVs leads to significant decrease in dendritic spine density in hippocampal neurons in vivo and in primary culture, which is rescued in vitro by transfection of a miR-insensitive Nlg1 form. Dendritic spine loss is accompanied by a decrease in the density and strength of excitatory synapses, as indicated by reduced mEPSC frequency and amplitude. These findings link inflammatory microglia and enhanced EV production to loss of excitatory synapses, uncovering a previously unrecognized role for microglia-enriched miRNAs, released in association to EVs, in silencing of key synaptic genes

Global patterns in endemicity and vulnerability of soil fungi

Fungi are highly diverse organisms, which provide multiple ecosystem services. However, compared with charismatic animals and plants, the distribution patterns and conservation needs of fungi have been little explored. Here, we examined endemicity patterns, global change vulnerability and conservation priority areas for functional groups of soil fungi based on six global surveys using a high-resolution, long-read metabarcoding approach. We found that the endemicity of all fungi and most functional groups peaks in tropical habitats, including Amazonia, Yucatan, West-Central Africa, Sri Lanka, and New Caledonia, with a negligible island effect compared with plants and animals. We also found that fungi are predominantly vulnerable to drought, heat and land-cover change, particularly in dry tropical regions with high human population density. Fungal conservation areas of highest priority include herbaceous wetlands, tropical forests, and woodlands. We stress that more attention should be focused on the conservation of fungi, especially root symbiotic arbuscular mycorrhizal and ectomycorrhizal fungi in tropical regions as well as unicellular early-diverging groups and macrofungi in general. Given the low overlap between the endemicity of fungi and macroorganisms, but high conservation needs in both groups, detailed analyses on distribution and conservation requirements are warranted for other microorganisms and soil organisms

Global patterns in endemicity and vulnerability of soil fungi

Fungi are highly diverse organisms, which provide multiple ecosystem services. However, compared with charismatic animals and plants, the distribution patterns and conservation needs of fungi have been little explored. Here, we examined endemicity patterns, global change vulnerability and conservation priority areas for functional groups of soil fungi based on six global surveys using a high-resolution, long-read metabarcoding approach. We found that the endemicity of all fungi and most functional groups peaks in tropical habitats, including Amazonia, Yucatan, West-Central Africa, Sri Lanka, and New Caledonia, with a negligible island effect compared with plants and animals. We also found that fungi are predominantly vulnerable to drought, heat and land-cover change, particularly in dry tropical regions with high human population density. Fungal conservation areas of highest priority include herbaceous wetlands, tropical forests, and woodlands. We stress that more attention should be focused on the conservation of fungi, especially root symbiotic arbuscular mycorrhizal and ectomycorrhizal fungi in tropical regions as well as unicellular early-diverging groups and macrofungi in general. Given the low overlap between the endemicity of fungi and macroorganisms, but high conservation needs in both groups, detailed analyses on distribution and conservation requirements are warranted for other microorganisms and soil organisms