415 research outputs found

    Interpretation and the Constraints on International Courts

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    This paper argues that methodologies of interpretation do not do what they promise – they do not constrain interpretation by providing neutral steps that one can follow in finding out a meaning of a text – but nevertheless do their constraining work by being part of what can be described as the legal practice

    Overlooked gall-inducing moths revisited, with the description of Andescecidium parrai gen. et sp. n. and Oliera saizi sp. n. from Chile (Lepidoptera, Cecidosidae)

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    There are still many gall systems associated with larvae of Lepidoptera in which the true gall-inducers have not been identified to species. Reports on misidentification of gall inducers have been recurrent for these galls, particularly in complex gall-systems that may include inquilines, kleptoparasites, and cecidophages, among other feeding guilds such as predators and parasitoid wasps. Here we describe and illustrate the adults, larvae, pupae and galls, based on light and scanning microscopy, of Andescecidium parrai gen. et sp. n. and Oliera saizi sp. n., two sympatric cecidosid moths that are associated with Schinus polygamus (Cav.) Cabrera (Anacardiaceae) in central Chile. Adults, immatures, and galls of the former did not conform to any known cecidosid genus. Galls of A. parrai are external, spherical, and conspicuous, being known for more than one century. However, their induction has been mistakenly associated with either unidentified Coleoptera (original description) or Oliera argentinana Br糨es (recently), a distinct cecidosid species with distribution restricted to the eastern Andes. Galls of O. saizi had been undetected, as they are inconspicuous. They occur under the bark within swollen stems, and may occur on the same plant, adjacent to those of A. parrai. We also propose a time-calibrated phylogeny using sequences from mitochondrial and nuclear loci, including specimens of the new proposed taxa. Thus in addition to clarifying the taxonomy of the Chilean cecidosid species we also tested their monophyly in comparison to congeneric species and putative specimens of all genera of Neotropical and African cecidosids.Fil: Silva, Gabriela T.. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: Moreira, Gilson R. P.. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: Vargas, Héctor A.. Universidad de Tarapacá de Arica; ChileFil: Gonçalves, Gislene L.. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; Brasil. Universidad de Tarapacá de Arica; ChileFil: Mainardi, Marina D.. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: San Blas, Diego German. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Pampa; ArgentinaFil: Davis, Donald. National Museum of Natural History; Estados Unido

    A Multi-Code Analysis Toolkit for Astrophysical Simulation Data

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    The analysis of complex multiphysics astrophysical simulations presents a unique and rapidly growing set of challenges: reproducibility, parallelization, and vast increases in data size and complexity chief among them. In order to meet these challenges, and in order to open up new avenues for collaboration between users of multiple simulation platforms, we present yt (available at http://yt.enzotools.org/), an open source, community-developed astrophysical analysis and visualization toolkit. Analysis and visualization with yt are oriented around physically relevant quantities rather than quantities native to astrophysical simulation codes. While originally designed for handling Enzo's structure adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) data, yt has been extended to work with several different simulation methods and simulation codes including Orion, RAMSES, and FLASH. We report on its methods for reading, handling, and visualizing data, including projections, multivariate volume rendering, multi-dimensional histograms, halo finding, light cone generation and topologically-connected isocontour identification. Furthermore, we discuss the underlying algorithms yt uses for processing and visualizing data, and its mechanisms for parallelization of analysis tasks.Comment: 18 pages, 6 figures, emulateapj format. Resubmitted to Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series with revisions from referee. yt can be found at http://yt.enzotools.org

    In vivo murine model of acquired resistance in myeloma reveals differential mechanisms for lenalidomide and pomalidomide in combination with dexamethasone

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    The development of resistance to therapy is unavoidable in the history of multiple myeloma patients. Therefore, the study of its characteristics and mechanisms is critical in the search for novel therapeutic approaches to overcome it. This effort is hampered by the absence of appropriate preclinical models, especially those mimicking acquired resistance. Here we present an in vivo model of acquired resistance based on the continuous treatment of mice bearing subcutaneous MM1S plasmacytomas. Xenografts acquired resistance to two generations of immunomodulatory drugs (IMiDs; lenalidomide and pomalidomide) in combination with dexamethasone, that was reversible after a wash-out period. Furthermore, lenalidomide-dexamethasone (LD) or pomalidomide-dexamethasone (PD) did not display cross-resistance, which could be due to the differential requirements of the key target Cereblon and its substrates Aiolos and Ikaros observed in cells resistant to each combination. Differential gene expression profiles of LD and PD could also explain the absence of cross-resistance. Onset of resistance to both combinations was accompanied by upregulation of the mitogen-activated protein kinaseextracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) kinase (MEK)ERK pathway and addition of selumetinib, a small-molecule MEK inhibitor, could resensitize resistant cells. Our results provide insights into the mechanisms of acquired resistance to LD and PD combinations and offer possible therapeutic approaches to addressing IMiD resistance in the clinic.Peer Reviewe

    P2X receptor signaling inhibits BDNF-mediated spiral ganglion neuron development in the neonatal rat cochlea.

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    Type I and type II spiral ganglion neurons (SGN) innervate the inner and outer hair cells of the cochlea, respectively. This neural system is established by reorganization of promiscuous innervation of the hair cells, immediately before hearing is established. The mechanism for this synaptic reorganization is unresolved but probably includes regulation of trophic support between the hair cells and the neurons. We provide evidence that P2X receptors (ATP-gated ion channels) contribute such a mechanism in the neonatal rat cochlea. Single-cell quantitative RT-PCR identified the differential expression of two P2X receptor subunits, splice variant P2X(2)(-3) and P2X(3), in a 1:2 transcript ratio. Downregulation of this P2X(2-3/3) receptor coincided with maturation of the SGN innervation of the hair cells. When the P2X(2-3) and P2X(3) subunits were co-expressed in Xenopus oocytes, the resultant P2X receptor properties corresponded to the SGN phenotype. This included enhanced sensitivity to ATP and extended agonist action. In P4 spiral ganglion explants, activation of the P2X receptor signaling pathway by ATPgammaS or alpha,betaMeATP inhibited BDNF-induced neurite outgrowth and branching. These findings indicate that P2X receptor signaling provides a mechanism for inhibiting neurotrophin support of SGN neurites when synaptic reorganization is occurring in the cochlea

    Weak synchronization of chaotic coupled map lattices

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    Phase synchronized states can emerge in the collective behavior of an ensemble of chaotic coupled map lattices, due to a mean field interaction. This type of interaction is responsible for synchronized chaotic global activity of the lattices, while the local activity of each map remains unsynchronized. The resulting collective dynamics is called “weak synchronization.” The transition to such a state is characterized in an ensemble of one-dimensional lattices of logistic maps, in terms of the distance in phase among the different lattices. Its robustness against a small difference in the map parameters is proved. We show that this phenomenon can be associated with pattern formation
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