385 research outputs found

    Human rights and ethical reasoning : capabilities, conventions and spheres of public action

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    This interdisciplinary article argues that human rights must be understood in terms of opportunities for social participation and that social and economic rights are integral to any discussion of the subject. We offer both a social constructionist and a normative framework for a sociology of human rights which reaches beyond liberal individualism, combining insights from the work of Amartya Sen and from French convention theory. Following Sen, we argue that human rights are founded on the promotion of human capabilities as ethical demands shaped by public reasoning. Using French convention theory, we show how the terms of such deliberation are shaped by different constructions of collectively held values and the compromises reached between them. We conclude by demonstrating how our approach offers a new perspective on spheres of public action and the role these should play in promoting social cohesion, individual capabilities and human rights

    Interplay of Sugar, Light and Gibberellins in Expression of Rosa hybrida Vacuolar Invertase 1 Regulation

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    Our previous findings showed that the expression of the Rosa hybrida vacuolar invertase 1 gene (RhVI1) was tightly correlated with the ability of buds to grow out and was under sugar, gibberellin and light control. Here, we aimed to provide an insight into the mechanistic basis of this regulation. In situ hybridization showed that RhVI1 expression was localized in epidermal cells of young leaves of bursting buds. We then isolated a 895 bp fragment of the promoter of RhVI1. In silico analysis identified putative cis-elements involved in the response to sugars, light and gibberellins on its proximal part (595 bp). To carry out functional analysis of the RhVI1 promoter in a homologous system, we developed a direct method for stable transformation of rose cells. 5â€Č deletions of the proximal promoter fused to the uidA reporter gene were inserted into the rose cell genome to study the cell’s response to exogenous and endogenous stimuli. Deletion analysis revealed that the 468 bp promoter fragment is sufficient to trigger reporter gene activity in response to light, sugars and gibberellins. This region confers sucrose- and fructose-, but not glucose-, responsive activation in the dark. Inversely, the –595 to –468 bp region that carries the sugar-repressive element (SRE) is required to down-regulate the RhVI1 promoter in response to sucrose and fructose in the dark. We also demonstrate that sugar/light and gibberellin/light act synergistically to up-regulate ÎČ-glucuronidase (GUS) activity sharply under the control of the 595 bp pRhVI1 region. These results reveal that the 127 bp promoter fragment located between –595 and –468 bp is critical for light and sugar and light and gibberellins to act synergistically

    Investigating the "Discrete Memory" of the Seveso Disaster in Italy

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    In this text, I bring a long term perspective to bear on an industrial accident that resulted in the contamination of an inhabited territory. Going beyond the immediate temporality of the event itself, I seek to recount the manner in which a disaster persists, is diluted and transformed in the life of the affected community. I also question the link often drawn in the literature between the experience of disaster and the emergence of a "local risk culture." From a reflexive point of view, finally, I seek to shed light upon and discuss some of the difficulties and tensions involved in research that above all aims to understand how a population responds to the radical disruption of its relationship to a territory

    Covalent enzyme coupling on cellulose acetate membranes for glucose sensor development

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    International audienceMethods for immobilizing glucose oxidase (GOx) on cellulose acetate (CA) membranes are compared. The optimal method involves covalent coupling of bovine serum albumin (BSA) to CA membrane and a subsequent reaction of the membrane with GOx, which has previously been activated with an excess of p-benzoquinone. This coupling procedure is fairly reproducible and allows the preparation of thin membranes (5-20 ”m) showing high surface activities (1-3 U/cm2) which are stable over a period of 1-3 months. Electrochemical and radiolabeling experiments show that enzyme inactivation as a result of immobilization is negligible. A good correlation between surface activity of membranes and their GOx load is observed

    WISEA J083011.95+283716.0: A Missing Link Planetary-Mass Object

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    We present the discovery of WISEA J083011.95+283716.0, the first Y dwarf candidate identified through the Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 citizen science project. We identified this object as a red, fast-moving source with a faint W2W2 detection in multi-epoch \textit{AllWISE} and unWISE images. We have characterized this object with Spitzer Space Telescope and \textit{Hubble Space Telescope} follow-up imaging. With mid-infrared detections in \textit{Spitzer}'s \emph{ch1} and \emph{ch2} bands and flux upper limits in Hubble Space Telescope F105WF105W and F125WF125W filters, we find that this object is both very faint and has extremely red colors (ch1−ch2=3.25±0.23ch1-ch2 = 3.25\pm0.23 mag, F125W−ch2≄9.36F125W-ch2 \geq 9.36 mag), consistent with a Teff∌300_{eff}\sim300 K source, as estimated from the known Y dwarf population. A preliminary parallax provides a distance of 11.1−1.5+2.011.1^{+2.0}_{-1.5} pc, leading to a slightly warmer temperature of ∌350\sim350 K. The extreme faintness and red Hubble Space Telescope and Spitzer Space Telescope colors of this object suggest it may be a link between the broader Y dwarf population and the coldest known brown dwarf WISE J0855−-0714, and highlight our limited knowledge of the true spread of Y dwarf colors. We also present four additional Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 late-T brown dwarf discoveries within 30 pc.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures, 5 table

    WISEA J083011.95+283716.0: A Missing Link Planetary-mass Object

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    We present the discovery of WISEA J083011.95+283716.0, the first Y-dwarf candidate identified through the "Backyard Worlds: Planet 9" citizen science project. We identified this object as a red, fast-moving source with a faint W2 detection in multiepoch AllWISE and unWISE images. We have characterized this object with Spitzer and Hubble Space Telescope's (HST) follow-up imaging. With mid-infrared detections in Spitzer's ch1 and ch2 bands and flux upper limits in HST F105W and F125W filters, we find that this object is both very faint and has extremely red colors (ch1 − ch2 = 3.25 ± 0.23 mag, F125W − ch2 ≄ 9.36 mag), consistent with a T_(eff) ~ 300 K source, as estimated from the known Y-dwarf population. A preliminary parallax provides a distance of 11.1_(-1.5)^(+2.0) pc, leading to a slightly warmer temperature of ~350 K. The extreme faintness and red HST and Spitzer colors of this object suggest that it may be a link between the broader Y-dwarf population and the coldest known brown dwarf WISE J0855−0714, and may highlight our limited knowledge of the true spread of Y-dwarf colors. We also present four additional "Backyard Worlds: Planet 9" late-T brown dwarf discoveries within 30 pc

    The metaRbolomics Toolbox in Bioconductor and beyond

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    Metabolomics aims to measure and characterise the complex composition of metabolites in a biological system. Metabolomics studies involve sophisticated analytical techniques such as mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and generate large amounts of high-dimensional and complex experimental data. Open source processing and analysis tools are of major interest in light of innovative, open and reproducible science. The scientific community has developed a wide range of open source software, providing freely available advanced processing and analysis approaches. The programming and statistics environment R has emerged as one of the most popular environments to process and analyse Metabolomics datasets. A major benefit of such an environment is the possibility of connecting different tools into more complex workflows. Combining reusable data processing R scripts with the experimental data thus allows for open, reproducible research. This review provides an extensive overview of existing packages in R for different steps in a typical computational metabolomics workflow, including data processing, biostatistics, metabolite annotation and identification, and biochemical network and pathway analysis. Multifunctional workflows, possible user interfaces and integration into workflow management systems are also reviewed. In total, this review summarises more than two hundred metabolomics specific packages primarily available on CRAN, Bioconductor and GitHub
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