“On target”: precision and balance in the contemporary law of targeting

The law of targeting lies at the heart of international humanitarian law (IHL). As such it is the fulcrum around which discussion of combat operations revolves. The efficacy of this body of law depends on maintenance of the delicate balance between military necessity and humanitarian concerns. Mischaracterization or misapplication of IHL norms risks imbalance, thereby jeopardizing the innocent and potentially eroding State support for IHL’s application. Regrettably, while some of the current debate and commentary surrounding, inter alia, drone operations, autonomous weapons systems, cyber operations, and the current conflicts in Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, and Ukraine, to name just a few, is highly sophisticated, much of it has been characterized by imprecise, skewed, or wrong assertions regarding the law of targeting. It is therefore a propitious moment to revisit the structure and content of targeting law. After briefly placing the law of targeting in the broader context of IHL, this article examines the five constituent elements of a targeting operation: (1) target; (2) weapon; (3) execution of the attack; (4) collateral damage and incidental injury; and (5) location. The legality of an engagement depends on full compliance with the rules falling into each category

Protein O-glycosylation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae: the protein O-mannosyltransferases Pmt1p and Pmt2p function as heterodimer

AbstractThe protein O-mannosyltransferases Pmt1p and Pmt2p are catalyzing the O-glycosylation of serine and threonine residues in the endoplasmic reticulum of yeast. Deletion of each of these proteins by disruption of the corresponding gene leads to a dramatic decrease of mannosyltransferase activity in vitro. With an anti-Pmt1p immunoaffinity column a complex of Pmt1p and a second protein was purified; this protein turned out to be Pmt2p. Overexpression of Pmt1p or Pmt2p, respectively, does not increase mannosyltransferase activity in vitro. Overexpression of both mannosyltransferases together, however, raises in vitro activity threefold. These data indicate that Pmt1p and Pmt2p function as a complex catalyzing protein O-glycosylation in yeast

Integrated On-Farm Decision Making: Economic Implications of Increased Variation in Litter Size

Increased litter sizes and associated piglet performance consequences, challenge swine producers. Stochastic modeling captured bioeconomic performance of individual piglets. As average litter size increased from 8.8 to 20.8 piglets, costs and revenues per head marketed from the demonstration herd decreased and total profit increased at a decreasing rate.stochastic modeling, farm business management, swine litter size, Agribusiness, Farm Management, Livestock Production/Industries,

Impacto del sistema de trafico del Circuito Turístico Catalina Huanca en el desarrollo turístico en Huancayo

El desarrollo del circuito turístico Catalina Huanca depende de muchos factores que en seguida se detalla. Objetivo: Es determinar la relación que existe entre el impacto del sistema de tráfico del circuito turístico Catalina Huanca y el desarrollo turístico del circuito Catalina Huanca en Huancayo, Método: Es de tipo aplicada porque soluciona problemas, es transversal porque los datos son medidos en una sola ocasión, es correlacional porque permite predecir su comportamiento futuro, el nivel de investigación es descriptivo, explicativo. Resultado: El resultado Alfa de Cronbach de 0.915 es interpretada como una alta confiabilidad, nuestra hipótesis general fue corroborada en que el sistema de tráfico del circuito turístico Catalina Huanca influye en el desarrollo turístico en Huancayo; así mismo que el estado de conservación de la vía, los turistas, el tránsito vehicular influye en el desarrollo turístico en Huancayo. Conclusiones: Se concluye que el Gobierno Regional de Junín, Gobierno de la provincia de Huancayo, los gobiernos distritales del circuito, así mismo las entidades del sector turismo, deben impulsar que el tráfico de los vehículos que usan los turistas, el estado de conservación de la vía del circuito, la atracción de los turistas, la creación de centros de esparcimiento en los lugares de poca afluencia todo ello influye para que se desarrolle el circuito Turístico Catalina Huanca en Huancayo. La recomendación que se da es que se debe implementar centros de esparcimiento en lugares de poca afluencia de vehículos para atraer a los turistas y así generar tráfico

Perceptions of Hunting and Hunters by U.S. Respondents

Public acceptance of hunting and hunting practices is an important human dimension of wildlife management in the United States. Researchers surveyed 825 U.S. residents in an online questionnaire about their views of hunting, hunters, and hunting practices. Eighty-seven percent of respondents from the national survey agreed that it was acceptable to hunt for food whereas 37% agreed that it was acceptable to hunt for a trophy. Over one-quarter of respondents did not know enough about hunting over bait, trapping, and captive hunts to form an opinion about whether the practice reduced animal welfare. Chi-square tests were used to explore relationships between perceptions of hunters and hunting practices and demographics. Those who knew hunters, participated in hunting-related activities, visited fairs or livestock operations, or were males who had more favorable opinions on hunting. A logistic regression model showed that not knowing a hunter was a statistically significant negative predictor of finding it acceptable to hunt; owning a pet was statistically significant and negative for approving of hunting for a trophy

The effects of attribute non-attendance, simple validation questions, and their interactions on willingness to pay estimates for meat choice experiments

During an online survey, respondents were randomly assigned to a choice experiment for either pork chops or chicken breasts and were then explicitly asked which attributes they did not consider while making their choices. A simple validation question, which directed respondents to choose a specific answer, was also included. Accounting for either stated or inferred attribute non-attendance alone had no statistically significant effect on willingness-to-Pay (WTP) estimates. Those who passed the validation question had statistically significant and higher WTP for some attributes of pork chops and chicken breasts when the variable was interacted with inferred or stated attribute non-attendance (ANA). While use of a validation question appears promising, more research is needed on this point before it can be concluded that ANA alone has no impact on the WTP estimates for food choice experiments