The lawyer's role in treaty-making: a review : Philip C. Jessup and Howard J. Taubenfeld, Controls for outer space and the Antarctic analogy Louis Henkin, Arms control and inspection in American law

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/66554/2/10.1177_002200276000400209.pd

Release characteristics of selected carbon nanotube polymer composites

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) are commonly used in polymer formulations to improve strength, conductivity, and other attributes. A developing concern is the potential for carbon nanotube polymer nanocomposites to release nanoparticles into the environment as the polymer matrix degrades or is mechanically stressed. Here, we review characteristics related to release potential of five sets of polymer systems: epoxy, polyamide, polyurethane, polyethylene, and polycarbonate. Our review includes consideration of general characteristics and use of the polymer (as related to potential MWCNT release) and its MWCNT composites; general potential for nanomaterial release (particularly MWCNTs) due to degradation and mechanical stresses during use; and potential effects of stabilizers and plasticizers on polymer degradation. We examine UV degradation, temperature extremes, acid-base catalysis, and stresses such as sanding. Based on a high-level summary of the characteristics considered, the potential for release of MWCNT with typical, intended consumer use is expected to be low. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Multi-modal survey of Adélie penguin mega-colonies reveals the Danger Islands as a seabird hotspot

© The Author(s), 2018. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Scientific Reports 8 (2018): 3926, doi:10.1038/s41598-018-22313-w.Despite concerted international effort to track and interpret shifts in the abundance and distribution of Adélie penguins, large populations continue to be identified. Here we report on a major hotspot of Adélie penguin abundance identified in the Danger Islands off the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula (AP). We present the first complete census of Pygoscelis spp. penguins in the Danger Islands, estimated from a multi-modal survey consisting of direct ground counts and computer-automated counts of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) imagery. Our survey reveals that the Danger Islands host 751,527 pairs of Adélie penguins, more than the rest of AP region combined, and include the third and fourth largest Adélie penguin colonies in the world. Our results validate the use of Landsat medium-resolution satellite imagery for the detection of new or unknown penguin colonies and highlight the utility of combining satellite imagery with ground and UAV surveys. The Danger Islands appear to have avoided recent declines documented on the Western AP and, because they are large and likely to remain an important hotspot for avian abundance under projected climate change, deserve special consideration in the negotiation and design of Marine Protected Areas in the region.We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Dalio Foundation, Inc. through the Dalio Explore Fund, which provided all the financing for the Danger Island Expedition. We would like to thank additional support for analysis from the National Science Foundation (NSF PLR&GSS 1255058 - H.J.L. and P.M.; NSF PLR 1443585 – M.J.P.) and the National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NNX14AC32G; H.J.L. and M.S.). Geospatial support for the analysis of high resolution satellite imagery provided by the Polar Geospatial Center under NSF PLR awards 1043681 & 1559691

Ultra‐thin GaAs solar cells with nanophotonic metal‐dielectric diffraction gratings fabricated with displacement Talbot lithography

Funder: Cambridge Trust; Id: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100003343Funder: Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología; Id: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100003141Funder: Isaac Newton Trust; Id: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100004815Abstract: Ultra‐thin photovoltaics enable lightweight flexible form factors, suitable for emerging terrestrial applications such as electric vehicle integration. These devices also exhibit intrinsic radiation tolerance and increased specific power and so are uniquely enabling for space power applications, offering longer missions in hostile environments and reduced launch costs. In this work, a GaAs solar cell with an 80‐nm absorber is developed with short circuit current exceeding the single pass limit. Integrated light management is employed to compensate for increased photon transmission inherent to ultra‐thin absorbers, and efficiency enhancement of 68% over a planar on‐wafer equivalent is demonstrated. This is achieved using a wafer‐scale technique, displacement Talbot lithography, to fabricate a rear surface nanophotonic grating. Optical simulations definitively confirm Fabry‐Perot and waveguide mode contributions to the observed increase in absorption and also demonstrate a pathway to short circuit current of 26 mA/cm2, well in excess of the double pass limit

Corporate Governance for Sustainability

The current model of corporate governance needs reform. There is mounting evidence that the practices of shareholder primacy drive company directors and executives to adopt the same short time horizon as financial markets. Pressure to meet the demands of the financial markets drives stock buybacks, excessive dividends and a failure to invest in productive capabilities. The result is a ‘tragedy of the horizon’, with corporations and their shareholders failing to consider environmental, social or even their own, long-term, economic sustainability. With less than a decade left to address the threat of climate change, and with consensus emerging that businesses need to be held accountable for their contribution, it is time to act and reform corporate governance in the EU. The statement puts forward specific recommendations to clarify the obligations of company boards and directors and make corporate governance practice significantly more sustainable and focused on the long term

Characterization of 4-HNE Modified L-FABP Reveals Alterations in Structural and Functional Dynamics

4-Hydroxynonenal (4-HNE) is a reactive α,β-unsaturated aldehyde produced during oxidative stress and subsequent lipid peroxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids. The reactivity of 4-HNE towards DNA and nucleophilic amino acids has been well established. In this report, using proteomic approaches, liver fatty acid-binding protein (L-FABP) is identified as a target for modification by 4-HNE. This lipid binding protein mediates the uptake and trafficking of hydrophobic ligands throughout cellular compartments. Ethanol caused a significant decrease in L-FABP protein (P<0.001) and mRNA (P<0.05), as well as increased poly-ubiquitinated L-FABP (P<0.001). Sites of 4-HNE adduction on mouse recombinant L-FABP were mapped using MALDI-TOF/TOF mass spectrometry on apo (Lys57 and Cys69) and holo (Lys6, Lys31, His43, Lys46, Lys57 and Cys69) L-FABP. The impact of 4-HNE adduction was found to occur in a concentration-dependent manner; affinity for the fluorescent ligand, anilinonaphthalene-8-sulfonic acid, was reduced from 0.347 µM to Kd1 = 0.395 µM and Kd2 = 34.20 µM. Saturation analyses revealed that capacity for ligand is reduced by approximately 50% when adducted by 4-HNE. Thermal stability curves of apo L-FABP was also found to be significantly affected by 4-HNE adduction (ΔTm = 5.44°C, P<0.01). Computational-based molecular modeling simulations of adducted protein revealed minor conformational changes in global protein structure of apo and holo L-FABP while more apparent differences were observed within the internal binding pocket, revealing reduced area and structural integrity. New solvent accessible portals on the periphery of the protein were observed following 4-HNE modification in both the apo and holo state, suggesting an adaptive response to carbonylation. The results from this study detail the dynamic process associated with L-FABP modification by 4-HNE and provide insight as to how alterations in structural integrity and ligand binding may a contributing factor in the pathogenesis of ALD

The human sodium iodide symporter as a reporter gene for studying Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus pathogenesis

Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) is frequently used in oncology and cardiology to evaluate disease progression and/or treatment efficacy. Such technology allows for real-time evaluation of disease progression and when applied to studying infectious diseases may provide insight into pathogenesis. Insertion of a SPECT-compatible reporter gene into a virus may provide insight into mechanisms of pathogenesis and viral tropism. The human sodium iodide symporter (hNIS), a SPECT and positron emission tomography reporter gene, was inserted into Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), a recently emerged virus that can cause severe respiratory disease and death in afflicted humans to obtain a quantifiable and sensitive marker for viral replication to further MERS-CoV animal model development. The recombinant virus was evaluated for fitness, stability, and reporter gene functionality. The recombinant and parental viruses demonstrated equal fitness in terms of peak titer and replication kinetics, were stable for up to six in vitro passages, and were functional. Further in vivo evaluation indicated variable stability, but resolution limits hampered in vivo functional evaluation. These data support the further development of hNIS for monitoring infection in animal models of viral disease.IMPORTANCE Advanced medical imaging such as single photon emission computed tomography with computed tomography (SPECT/CT) enhances fields such as oncology and cardiology. Application of SPECT/CT, magnetic resonance imaging, and positron emission tomography to infectious disease may enhance pathogenesis studies and provide alternate biomarkers of disease progression. The experiments described in this article focus on insertion of a SPECT/CT-compatible reporter gene into MERS-CoV to demonstrate that a functional SPECT/CT reporter gene can be inserted into a virus

A future for Hashima: pornography, representation and time

This article sets out to investigate the relationship between ruins, futurity, and ‘ruin porn’ - a visual mode of representation that all too often seeks to fix post-industrial ruins as mere aesthetic objects, devoid of history and/or temporality. It does so by focusing on performance, which, in this context, is understood as a processual mode of art-making that provides spectators with an experience of time. In this expanded definition of performance, as one may perhaps expect, the performativity of the object is not limited to the theatrical event alone; rather, it now inheres in sometimes uncanny durational aspects of both still and moving images. The essay proceeds in three stages. Part one provides a historical and theoretical overview of the type of performance inherent in ‘ruin porn’; part two critiques two images from Yves Marchand's and Romain Meffre's Gunkanjima (2013), a photo album that attempted to document the ruins of Hashima, an island situated 15 kilometres from Nagasaki City in the East China Sea; and part three investigates the very different aesthetic at work in Lee Hassall's film Return to Battleship Island (2013) which was made in response to AHRC- funded project, ‘The Future of Ruins: Reclaiming Abandonment and Toxicity on Hashima Island’ (2013). In this reading of Return to Battleship Island , the onus is on showing how Hassall's film, in its representation of Hashima's crumbling apartment blocks and industrial buildings, intentionally sought to contest the atemporal logic of ‘ruin porn’ by attempting to endow the viewing experience with a sense of futurity. Crucially, this does not mean that film represented the future as an object, but, on the contrary, tried to make it palpable, as something one undergoes physically in the very act of reception