Drafting Tunisia’s constitution : tensions between constituent power and constituted power in the transition process

After a series of votes on each of the 149 articles of the constitution, the Tunisian National Constituent Assembly (ANC) adopted a new constitution on 26 January 2014 which was signed into law by President Mouncef Marzouki the following day. It marked the end of a period of political tension that rocked the country since the summer of 2013, when on 1 June the assembly, dominated by the Islamist Ennahda Movement, presented an Islamo-conservative constitution. This proposal was followed by the assassination of the ANC member and opposition politician Mohamed Brahmi on 26 July and Egypt’s military coup on 3 July 2013. This paper will analyse the tensions surrounding the two and a half year constitution-making process from the two core legal concepts of constituent power and constituted power. Drawing on the theoretical work of Thornhill, I will argue that key to the success of Tunisia in tempering tensions was the role of the judiciary in pre-revolutionary Tunisia as well as the appearance of other extra-judicial actors in the constitution-making process. This was complemented by significant references to international law and rights. During the process of drafting the constitution, the judiciary refrained from attempting to establish its autonomy or supremacy in deciding the correct application of law. Due to this, the elected assembly was charged with the unique task of establishing a legal-rational framework without the constraints imposed by common laws or an autonomous and semi-emancipated judiciary. While it is not possible to assert that this unique situation made the transition to institutionalised liberal-democratic rule possible, this paper will argue that Tunisia’s relative stability was at the very least facilitated by the fact that the judiciary remained in the background, denying antagonistic actors access to this institution in order to express their opposition to developing constitutional rule and practice

Human rights in Moroccan politics

In the early 1990s, the question of human rights was one of the central issues where the Kingdom of Morocco encountered domestic and international criticism. As a consequence, Morocco embarked on a political reform programme in order to improve its image abroad and in order to create a domestic consensus among political forces. This had positive effects on political liberties that Moroccans enjoyed but its character remained limited through the absence of independent institutions of checks and balances.peer-reviewe

Correlated changes between regulatory cis elements and condition-specific expression in paralogous gene families

Gene duplication is integral to evolution, providing novel opportunities for organisms to diversify in function. One fundamental pathway of functional diversification among initially redundant gene copies, or paralogs, is via alterations in their expression patterns. Although the mechanisms underlying expression divergence are not completely understood, transcription factor binding sites and nucleosome occupancy are known to play a significant role in the process. Previous attempts to detect genomic variations mediating expression divergence in orthologs have had limited success for two primary reasons. First, it is inherently challenging to compare expressions among orthologs due to variable trans-acting effects and second, previous studies have quantified expression divergence in terms of an overall similarity of expression profiles across multiple samples, thereby obscuring condition-specific expression changes. Moreover, the inherently inter-correlated expressions among homologs present statistical challenges, not adequately addressed in many previous studies. Using rigorous statistical tests, here we characterize the relationship between cis element divergence and condition-specific expression divergence among paralogous genes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In particular, among all combinations of gene family and TFs analyzed, we found a significant correlation between TF binding and the condition-specific expression patterns in over 20% of the cases. In addition, incorporating nucleosome occupancy reveals several additional correlations. For instance, our results suggest that GAL4 binding plays a major role in the expression divergence of the genes in the sugar transporter family. Our work presents a novel means of investigating the cis regulatory changes potentially mediating expression divergence in paralogous gene families under specific conditions

Increased ion temperature and neutron yield observed in magnetized indirectly driven D_{2}-filled capsule implosions on the national ignition facility

The application of an external 26 Tesla axial magnetic field to a D_{2} gas-filled capsule indirectly driven on the National Ignition Facility is observed to increase the ion temperature by 40% and the neutron yield by a factor of 3.2 in a hot spot with areal density and temperature approaching what is required for fusion ignition [1]. The improvements are determined from energy spectral measurements of the 2.45 MeV neutrons from the D(d,n)^{3}He reaction, and the compressed central core B field is estimated to be ∼4.9  kT using the 14.1 MeV secondary neutrons from the D(T,n)^{4}He reactions. The experiments use a 30 kV pulsed-power system to deliver a ∼3  μs current pulse to a solenoidal coil wrapped around a novel high-electrical-resistivity AuTa_{4} hohlraum. Radiation magnetohydrodynamic simulations are consistent with the experiment

TLR2 and Nod2 Mediate Resistance or Susceptibility to Fatal Intracellular Ehrlichia Infection in Murine Models of Ehrlichiosis

Our murine models of human monocytic ehrlichiosis (HME) have shown that severe and fatal ehrlichiosis is due to generation of pathogenic T cell responses causing immunopathology and multi-organ failure. However, the early events in the liver, the main site of infection, are not well understood. In this study, we examined the liver transcriptome during the course of lethal and nonlethal infections caused by Ixodes ovatus Ehrlichia and Ehrlichia muris, respectively. On day 3 post-infection (p.i.), although most host genes were down regulated in the two groups of infected mice compared to naïve counterparts, lethal infection induced significantly higher expression of caspase 1, caspase 4, nucleotide binding oligomerization domain-containing proteins (Nod1), tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin 10, and CCL7 compared to nonlethal infection. On day 7 p.i., lethal infection induced highly significant upregulation of type-1 interferon, several inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, which was associated with increased expression levels of Toll-like receptor-2 (TLR2), Nod2, MyD88, nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kB), Caspase 4, NLRP1, NLRP12, Pycard, and IL-1β, suggesting enhanced TLR signals and inflammasomes activation. We next evaluated the participation of TLR2 and Nod2 in the host response during lethal Ehrlichia infection. Although lack of TLR2 impaired bacterial elimination and increased tissue necrosis, Nod2 deficiency attenuated pathology and enhanced bacterial clearance, which correlated with increased interferon-γ and interleukin-10 levels and a decreased frequency of pathogenic CD8+ T cells in response to lethal infection. Thus, these data indicate that Nod2, but not TLR2, contributes to susceptibility to severe Ehrlichia-induced shock. Together, our studies provide, for the first time, insight into the diversity of host factors and novel molecular pathogenic mechanisms that may contribute to severe HME. © 2013 Chattoraj et al

Использование арахисового масла в качестве присадки к дизельному топливу

Abstract. As part of the environmental requirements for reducing the toxicity of exhaust gases of internal combustion engines, including diesel engines of tractor and combine harvesters, great attention is paid to various ways of reducing harmful substances in the exhaust gases combustion products. The problem of using energy-saving resources, including renewable energy, various types of alternative fuels is currently solved. In several ways these include using vegetable oils from various agricultural crops, one of which is peanut oil. Its use can help to solve two urgent problems: reducing the toxicity of exhaust gases of internal combustion engines. (Research objective) To analyze the properties of peanut oil as an additive to diesel fuel and evaluate the performance of a diesel engine using this type of fuel. (Materials and methods) The properties of peanut oil differ from those of diesel fuel by higher viscosity and lower heat value. To compensate for these shortcomings, kerosene has been added to the mixture of diesel fuel with peanut oil. In cold climatic conditions, the use of pure peanut oil is difficult, since its cloud point is 3.3 degrees Celsius, which is 20 degrees higher than that of diesel fuel. In the blend composition, the cloud point of the fuel decreases, which makes it possible to use it in colder conditions. (Results and discussion) The authors have conducted a study on the tractor engine D-120 coupled with a brake balancer installation without additional engine adjustments. As a result, they have obtained the characteristics of the engine working on fuel with the addition of peanut oil. The authors have compared the results of the engine operation on pure and mixed diesel fuel, revealed indicators of operating efficiency and toxicity of exhaust gases. (Conclusions) It has been proved experimentally that the addition of peanut oil to diesel fuel leads to a decrease in the specific effective fuel consumption, and also reduces the emission of soot and nitrogen oxides, while the engine power decreases slightly.Реферат. В рамках экологических требований к снижению токсичности отработанных газов двигателей внутреннего сгорания, в том числе тракторных и комбайновых дизелей, большое внимание уделяют различным способам снижения вредных веществ в продуктах сгорания топлива. Решается задача использования энергосберегающих ресурсов, в том числе возобновляемых источников энергии, различных альтернативных видов топлива. К ним относятся растительные масла сельскохозяйственных культур, в том числе арахисовое. (Цель исследования) Проанализировать свойства арахисового масла как добавки к дизельному топливу и оценить показатели работы дизеля на топливе с добавками арахисового масла. (Материалы и методы) Арахисовое масло отличается от дизельного топлива более высокой вязкостью и меньшей теплотой сгорания. В смесь дизельного топлива с арахисовым маслом добавляли керосин для компенсации этих недостатков. В холодных климатических условиях использование арахисового масла в чистом виде затруднено, так как для него температура помутнения составляет 3,3 градуса Цельсия, что на 20 градусов выше, чем у дизельного топлива. В смесевом составе температура помутнения топлива понижается, что позволяет использовать его в более холодных условиях. (Результаты и обсуждение) Провели исследование на тракторном двигателе Д-120 в паре с тормозной балансирной установкой без дополнительных регулировок двигателя. Получили характеристики двигателя при работе на топливе с добавкой арахисового масла. Сравнили результаты работы двигателя на чистом дизельном топливе и смесевом, выявили показатели эффективности работы и токсичности отработанных газов. (Выводы) Экспериментально доказали, что добавка арахисового масла к дизельному топливу сокращает удельный эффективный расход топлива, а также уменьшает выброс сажи и оксидов азота, при этом мощность двигателя снижается незначительно

eXtraembryonic ENdoderm (XEN) Stem Cells Produce Factors that Activate Heart Formation

Initial specification of cardiomyocytes in the mouse results from interactions between the extraembryonic anterior visceral endoderm (AVE) and the nascent mesoderm. However the mechanism by which AVE activates cardiogenesis is not well understood, and the identity of specific cardiogenic factors in the endoderm remains elusive. Most mammalian studies of the cardiogenic potential of the endoderm have relied on the use of cell lines that are similar to the heart-inducing AVE. These include the embryonal-carcinoma-derived cell lines, END2 and PYS2. The recent development of protocols to isolate eXtraembryonic ENdoderm (XEN) stem cells, representing the extraembryonic endoderm lineage, from blastocyst stage mouse embryos offers new tools for the genetic dissection of cardiogenesis.Here, we demonstrate that XEN cell-conditioned media (CM) enhances cardiogenesis during Embryoid Body (EB) differentiation of mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells in a manner comparable to PYS2-CM and END2-CM. Addition of CM from each of these three cell lines enhanced the percentage of EBs that formed beating areas, but ultimately, only XEN-CM and PYS2-CM increased the total number of cardiomyocytes that formed. Furthermore, our observations revealed that both contact-independent and contact-dependent factors are required to mediate the full cardiogenic potential of the endoderm. Finally, we used gene array comparison to identify factors in these cell lines that could mediate their cardiogenic potential.These studies represent the first step in the use of XEN cells as a molecular genetic tool to study cardiomyocyte differentiation. Not only are XEN cells functionally similar to the heart-inducing AVE, but also can be used for the genetic dissection of the cardiogenic potential of AVE, since they can be isolated from both wild type and mutant blastocysts. These studies further demonstrate the importance of both contact-dependent and contact-independent factors in cardiogenesis and identify potential heart-inducing proteins in the endoderm

Activation of an NLRP3 Inflammasome Restricts Mycobacterium kansasii Infection

Mycobacterium kansasii has emerged as an important nontuberculous mycobacterium pathogen, whose incidence and prevalence have been increasing in the last decade. M. kansasii can cause pulmonary tuberculosis clinically and radiographically indistinguishable from that caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. Unlike the widely-studied M. tuberculosis, little is known about the innate immune response against M. kansasii infection. Although inflammasome activation plays an important role in host defense against bacterial infection, its role against atypical mycobacteria remains poorly understood. In this report, the role of inflammasome activity in THP-1 macrophages against M. kansasii infection was studied. Results indicated that viable, but not heat-killed, M. kansasii induced caspase-1-dependent IL-1β secretion in macrophages. The underlying mechanism was found to be through activation of an inflammasome containing the NLR (Nod-like receptor) family member NLRP3 and the adaptor protein ASC (apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a CARD). Further, potassium efflux, lysosomal acidification, ROS production and cathepsin B release played a role in M. kansasii-induced inflammasome activation. Finally, the secreted IL-1β derived from caspase-1 activation was shown to restrict intracellular M. kansasii. These findings demonstrate a biological role for the NLRP3 inflammasome in host defense against M. kansasii

A Comparative Analysis of Extra-Embryonic Endoderm Cell Lines

Prior to gastrulation in the mouse, all endodermal cells arise from the primitive endoderm of the blastocyst stage embryo. Primitive endoderm and its derivatives are generally referred to as extra-embryonic endoderm (ExEn) because the majority of these cells contribute to extra-embryonic lineages encompassing the visceral endoderm (VE) and the parietal endoderm (PE). During gastrulation, the definitive endoderm (DE) forms by ingression of cells from the epiblast. The DE comprises most of the cells of the gut and its accessory organs. Despite their different origins and fates, there is a surprising amount of overlap in marker expression between the ExEn and DE, making it difficult to distinguish between these cell types by marker analysis. This is significant for two main reasons. First, because endodermal organs, such as the liver and pancreas, play important physiological roles in adult animals, much experimental effort has been directed in recent years toward the establishment of protocols for the efficient derivation of endodermal cell types in vitro. Conversely, factors secreted by the VE play pivotal roles that cannot be attributed to the DE in early axis formation, heart formation and the patterning of the anterior nervous system. Thus, efforts in both of these areas have been hampered by a lack of markers that clearly distinguish between ExEn and DE. To further understand the ExEn we have undertaken a comparative analysis of three ExEn-like cell lines (END2, PYS2 and XEN). PYS2 cells are derived from embryonal carcinomas (EC) of 129 strain mice and have been characterized as parietal endoderm-like [1], END2 cells are derived from P19 ECs and described as visceral endoderm-like, while XEN cells are derived from blastocyst stage embryos and are described as primitive endoderm-like. Our analysis suggests that none of these cell lines represent a bona fide single in vivo lineage. Both PYS2 and XEN cells represent mixed populations expressing markers for several ExEn lineages. Conversely END2 cells, which were previously characterized as VE-like, fail to express many markers that are widely expressed in the VE, but instead express markers for only a subset of the VE, the anterior visceral endoderm. In addition END2 cells also express markers for the PE. We extended these observations with microarray analysis which was used to probe and refine previously published data sets of genes proposed to distinguish between DE and VE. Finally, genome-wide pathway analysis revealed that SMAD-independent TGFbeta signaling through a TAK1/p38/JNK or TAK1/NLK pathway may represent one mode of intracellular signaling shared by all three of these lines, and suggests that factors downstream of these pathways may mediate some functions of the ExEn. These studies represent the first step in the development of XEN cells as a powerful molecular genetic tool to study the endodermal signals that mediate the important developmental functions of the extra-embryonic endoderm. Our data refine our current knowledge of markers that distinguish various subtypes of endoderm. In addition, pathway analysis suggests that the ExEn may mediate some of its functions through a non-classical MAP Kinase signaling pathway downstream of TAK1