Incursões Militares Unilaterais em Solo Estrangeiro e a Sua Legitimidade: O Caso Líbio de 2013

 In 1945, the Truman Proclamation, a government unilateral act of the United Sta- tes, led to the rapid emergence of an international custom that in 1958 turned into a con- vention and in 1969 was recognized by the International Court of Justice as the right of states to economically exploit their continental shelves. This paper examines the effects of the Bush Doctrine, another US unilateral act, under public international law, due to the attacks of 11th September 2001. This research centers on a specific case: the capture of Abu Anas al -Liby, a Libyan citizen who was stopped at the door of his home in October 5th, 2013, in the city of Tripoli, the Libyan territory. It happened in a joint operation, which saw the participation of the CIA - Central Intelligence Agency, the FBI - Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Delta Force soldiers, a group of elite US military - United States , on the grounds that the targeted one had links with the terrorist group Al Qaeda. After his capture, al-Liby was taken in for questioning on a warship in the Mediterrane- an sea and then was presented before a Federal Court of New York to stand trial for the attacks that in 1998 killed hundreds of people in US Embassies, in Kenya and Tanzania. The Libyan state denied having granted any authorization and complained of violation of sovereignty. This work has importance in the context of the Iberian Peninsula, due to the fact that Portugal and Spain are now potentially inserted into the terrorist agenda of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a group that, in 2014, declared his intent to recover all the territories that belonged to Islam, announcement that has been considered the most significant development of international jihadism since 11th September. From these elements, the paper investigates whether there is any right capable of legitimizing unilateral military raids on foreign soil. As a result, it can be said that there is an ongoing accelerated formation of international custom.Em 1945, a Proclamação Truman, um ato unilateral do governo dos Estados Unidos da América, levou ao rápido surgimento de um costume internacional que, em 1958, transformou-se em uma convenção e, em 1969, foi reconhecido pela Corte Internacional de Justiça como o direito dos Estados de explorarem economicamente as suas plataformas continentais. O presente trabalho examina os efeitos da Doutrina Bush, outro ato unilateral dos EUA, no âmbito do Direito Internacional Público, em decorrência dos atentados do 11 de setembro de 2001. A pesquisa gira em torno de um caso concreto: a captura de Abu Anas al-Liby, um cidadão líbio que foi interceptado na porta de sua casa, em 05 de outubro de 2013, na cidade de Trípoli, território da Líbia. O fato aconteceu através de uma operação conjunta, que contou com a participação da CIA – Agência Central de Inteligência, do FBI – Agência Federal de Investigação e de militares do Comando Delta, um grupo de elite das Forças Armadas dos EUA – Estados Unidos da América, sob alegação de que o alvo tinha ligações com o grupo terrorista Al Qaeda. Após a captura, al-Liby foi levado para interrogatório em um navio de guerra no Mediterrâneo e, depois, foi apresentado a uma Corte Federal de Nova York para ser julgado pelos atentados que, em 1998, mataram centenas de pessoas nas Embaixadas dos EUA, no Quênia e na Tanzânia. O Estado líbio negou ter concedido qualquer autorização e queixou-se de violação de soberania. O presente trabalho possui importância, no contexto da Península Ibérica, devido ao fato de que Portugal e Espanha estão hoje potencialmente inseridos na agenda terrorista do Estado Islâmico do Iraque e Al-Sham (ISIS), grupo que, em 2014, declarou seu intento de recuperar todos os territórios que pertenceram ao Islão, anúncio que vem sendo considerado o mais significativo desenvolvimento do jihadismo internacional desde o 11 de setembro. A partir desses elementos, o artigo investiga se existe algum direito capaz de legitimar incursões militares unilaterais em solo estrangeiro. Como resultado, pode-se dizer que está em curso uma formação acelerada de costume internacional

Protocol for the Smoking, Nicotine and Pregnancy (SNAP) trial: double-blind, placebo-randomised, controlled trial of nicotine replacement therapy in pregnancy

Background: Smoking in pregnancy remains a public health challenge. Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) is effective for smoking cessation in non-pregnant people, but because women metabolise nicotine and cotinine much faster in pregnancy, it is unclear whether this will be effective for smoking cessation in pregnancy. The NHS Health Technology Assessment Programme (HTA)-funded smoking, nicotine and pregnancy ( SNAP) trial will investigate whether or not nicotine replacement therapy ( NRT) is effective, cost-effective and safe when used for smoking cessation by pregnant women. Methods/Design: Over two years, in 5 trial centres, 1050 pregnant women who are between 12 and 24 weeks pregnant will be randomised as they attend hospital for ante-natal ultrasound scans. Women will receive either nicotine or placebo transdermal patches with behavioural support. The primary outcome measure is biochemically-validated, self-reported, prolonged and total abstinence from smoking between a quit date ( defined before randomisation and set within two weeks of this) and delivery. At six months after childbirth self-reported maternal smoking status will be ascertained and two years after childbirth, self-reported maternal smoking status and the behaviour, cognitive development and respiratory symptoms of children born in the trial will be compared in both groups. Discussion: This trial is designed to ascertain whether or not standard doses of NRT ( as transdermal patches) are effective and safe when used for smoking cessation during pregnancy

PhOTO Zebrafish: A Transgenic Resource for In Vivo Lineage Tracing during Development and Regeneration

Background: Elucidating the complex cell dynamics (divisions, movement, morphological changes, etc.) underlying embryonic development and adult tissue regeneration requires an efficient means to track cells with high fidelity in space and time. To satisfy this criterion, we developed a transgenic zebrafish line, called PhOTO, that allows photoconvertible optical tracking of nuclear and membrane dynamics in vivo. Methodology: PhOTO zebrafish ubiquitously express targeted blue fluorescent protein (FP) Cerulean and photoconvertible FP Dendra2 fusions, allowing for instantaneous, precise targeting and tracking of any number of cells using Dendra2 photoconversion while simultaneously monitoring global cell behavior and morphology. Expression persists through adulthood, making the PhOTO zebrafish an excellent tool for studying tissue regeneration: after tail fin amputation and photoconversion of a ~100µm stripe along the cut area, marked differences seen in how cells contribute to the new tissue give detailed insight into the dynamic process of regeneration. Photoconverted cells that contributed to the regenerate were separated into three distinct populations corresponding to the extent of cell division 7 days after amputation, and a subset of cells that divided the least were organized into an evenly spaced, linear orientation along the length of the newly regenerating fin. Conclusions/Significance: PhOTO zebrafish have wide applicability for lineage tracing at the systems-level in the early embryo as well as in the adult, making them ideal candidate tools for future research in development, traumatic injury and regeneration, cancer progression, and stem cell behavior

Increased incidence of glucose disorders during pregnancy is not explained by pre-pregnancy obesity in London, Canada

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The increasing incidence of impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), gestational diabetes (GDM) and type 2 diabetes (T2D) during pregnancy was hypothesized to be associated with increases in pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI). The aims were to 1) determine the prevalence of IGT/GDM/T2 D over a 10 year period; 2) examine the relationship between maternal overweight/obesity and IGT/GDM/T2D; and 3) examine the extent to which maternal metabolic complications impact maternal and fetal pregnancy outcomes.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Data arose from a perinatal database which contains maternal characteristics and perinatal outcome for all singleton infants born in London, Canada between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2009. Univariable and multivariable odds ratios (OR) were estimated using logistic regression with IGT/GDM/T2 D being the outcome of interest.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 36,597 women were included in the analyses. Population incidence of IGT, GDM and T2 D rose from 0.7%, 2.9% and 0.5% in 2000 to 1.2%, 4.2% and 0.9% in 2009. The univariable OR for IGT, GDM and T2 D were 1.65, 1.52 and 2.06, respectively, over the ten year period. After controlling for maternal age, parity and pre-pregnancy BMI the OR did not decrease. Although there was a positive relationship between pre-pregnancy BMI and prevalence of IGT/GDM/T2 D, this did not explain the time trends in the latter. Diagnosis of IGT/GDM/T2 D increased the risk of having an Apgar score <7 at 5 minutes, which was partially explained by gestational hypertension, high placental ratio, gestational age and large for gestational age babies.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We found a significant increase in the incidence of IGT/GDM/T2 D for the decade between 2000-2009 which was not explained by rising prevalence of maternal overweight/obesity.</p

The young active star SAO 51891 (V383 Lac)

Our aim is investigating surface inhomogeneities of the young late-type star SAO51891, from photosphere to upper chromosphere, analyzing contemporaneous high-resolution spectra and broad-band photometry. The FOCES@CAHA spectral range is used to determine spectral classification and derive vsini and Vrad. The Li abundance is measured to estimate the age. The BVRIJHKs bands are used to construct the SED. The variations of our BV fluxes and Teff are used to infer the presence of photospheric spots and observe their behavior over time. The chromospheric activity is studied applying the spectral subtraction technique to Halpha, CaII H&K, Heps, and CaII IRT lines. We find SAO51891 to be a young K0-1V star with Li abundance close to the Pleiades upper envelope, confirming its youth (~100 Myr), also inferred from its kinematical membership to the Local Association. We detect no IR excess from SED analysis, and rotational modulation of luminosity, Teff, CaII, and Heps total fluxes. A spot model with two active regions, ~240 K cooler than the surrounding photosphere, fits our light/Teff curves, and reproduces the small-amplitude Vrad variations. The anti-correlation of light curves and chromospheric diagnostics indicates plages spatially associated with spots. The large amplitude observed in the Heps-flux curve suggests that this line is very sensitive to the plage presence. Finally, SAO51891 is a young active star, lacking significant amounts of circumstellar dust or any evidence for low mass companions. The spots turn out to be larger and warmer than those in less active MS stars. The Vrad variation produced by spots has an amplitude comparable with those induced by Jupiter-mass planets orbiting close to the star. SAO51891 is a good example of star where the detection of planets may be hampered by the high activity level.Comment: 16 pages, 12 figures, 7 tables, accepted by Astronomy and Astrophysics; abstract here was shortene

Bright ligand-activatable fluorescent protein for high-quality multicolor live-cell super-resolution microscopy

We introduce UnaG as a green-to-dark photoswitching fluorescent protein capable of high-quality super-resolution imaging with photon numbers equivalent to the brightest photoswitchable red protein. UnaG only fluoresces upon binding of a fluorogenic metabolite, bilirubin, enabling UV-free reversible photoswitching with easily controllable kinetics and low background under Epi illumination. The on- and off-switching rates are controlled by the concentration of the ligand and the excitation light intensity, respectively, where the dissolved oxygen also promotes the off-switching. The photo-oxidation reaction mechanism of bilirubin in UnaG suggests that the lack of ligand-protein covalent bond allows the oxidized ligand to detach from the protein, emptying the binding cavity for rebinding to a fresh ligand molecule. We demonstrate super-resolution single-molecule localization imaging of various subcellular structures genetically encoded with UnaG, which enables facile labeling and simultaneous multicolor imaging of live cells. UnaG has the promise of becoming a default protein for high-performance super-resolution imaging. Photoconvertible proteins occupy two color channels thereby limiting multicolour localisation microscopy applications. Here the authors present UnaG, a new green-to-dark photoswitching fluorescent protein for super-resolution imaging, whose activation is based on a noncovalent binding with bilirubin

Early intervention in Portugal: study of professionals’ perceptions

Early intervention (EI) has been characterized by considerable advances in its domain, which has had great repercussions in the implementation of the family-centered approach. These changes have had implications in the practices and in the adoption and learning of new values that should be implemented in EI. This study evaluates the professional perspectives regarding familycentered practices in EI programs in Portugal. The results highlight the importance of effective collaboration and coordination between health, education, and social services and the importance of providing child and family support in a natural context. These results reinforce the need to invest in professional training to improve the quality of services offered to families in EI.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) no âmbito do projecto PEst-OE/CED/UI1661/2014 do CIEd