Non-discrimination under the European Convention on Human Rights: a critique of the UK Government's refusal to sign and ratify Protocol 12

The European Convention on Human Rights does not contain a general prohibition of discrimination. Article 14 is accessory to the Convention’s other substantive guarantees and has no independent existence, with the result that certain forms of discrimination cannot be brought within its ambit. In order to cure this defect, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe has adopted Protocol 12 which provides for a general prohibition of discrimination. However, the UK Government has declared that it has no immediate plans to sign and ratify Protocol 12. After outlining the scope of Article 14 with reference to recent Strasbourg and domestic case-law and explaining the main provisions of the new Protocol, this article offers a critique of the Government’s positio

Design of microfluidic networks

Microfluidics is a relatively new and fast growing research area in fluid mechanics. The devices in question are thin wafers containing etched or printed interconnecting channels through which fluids are pumped, which can mix and/or react at various nodes to produce an output product. Microfluidic devices have applications in many manufacturing and chemical detection processes. For example, they can be used to manufacture monodisperse droplets with very well defined properties for pharmaceutical applications; or form the basis for miniaturised ‘lab-on-a-chip’ sensor arrays for detecting biological substances or toxins

Simulated pion photoproduction experiments

Thesis (S.B.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Physics, 2005.Includes bibliographical references (leaf 18).Introduction: In this paper, I will be assessing the capabilities of the Neutral Meson Spectrometer (NMS) detector in a planned experiment at the High Intensity Gamma Source at Duke University. I will review the relevant theory and set out the importance of this experiment. I will describe the proposed apparatus and how I have modeled it in my simulation. I will explain the data we wish to draw from the experiment and present results as to how well I believe this setup will perform.by Ethan Howe.S.B

The Airspace Tribunal and the case for a new human right to protect the freedom to live without physical or psychological threat from above

Established in 2018, the Airspace Tribunal is a people’s tribunal that is examining the case for and against the recognition of a proposed new human right to live without physical or psychological threat from above. Drawing on the Airspace Tribunal’s first two hearings in London and Sydney, this article explains the Tribunal’s purpose and discusses the nature of the proposed right, why it is considered necessary, how it should be created and how it could strengthen international humanitarian law. It contends that a particuarly compelling argument in favour of the proposed right's recognition is the psychological impact on civilians of threats experienced from or through airspace. With further hearings planned in other parts of the world, the article concludes by emphasising that the Airspace Tribunal’s aim is to facilitate, continue and develop the vital conversation about protecting human dignity and promoting the universality of human rights in the face of growing threats to our existence

Studies on the molecular control of copper homeostasis in the ascomycet Podospora anserina

Das essentielle Spurenelement Kupfer ist Co-Faktor mehrerer Schlüsselenzyme (z B. Cu/Zn-SOD, Cytochrom c Oxidase). Da Kupfer leicht Elektronen aufnehmen und abgeben kann, eignet es sich besonders gut für Redox-Reaktionen. Wenn Kupfer jedoch mit Sauerstoff reagiert, entstehen hoch cytotoxische reaktive Sauerstoffspezies (ROS), die nach der „freien Radikaltheorie des Alterns“ (nach D. Harman 1956) ursächlich für Alterung und Zelltod sind. Um deren Bildung zu vermeiden, erfolgen alle Aspekte des Kupferstoffwechsels – Aufnahme, Transport und Speicherung - stets proteingebunden. In der vorliegenden Arbeit konnte gezeigt werden, dass sich bis auf drei Ausnahmen die gesamte bislang bekannte Maschinerie der molekularen Kupferhomöostase aus anderen Modellorganismen (z.B. S. cerevisiae oder H. sapiens) auch im Genom des Ascomyceten Podospora anserina mit Homologen bzw. Orthologen wiederfindet. Die drei Ausnahmen betreffen jeweils Proteine, für die in anderen Organismen mehrere Isoformen existieren und P. anserina nur jeweils ein Homolog/Ortholog besitzt. Für mehrere der neu vorhergesagten Gene (PaAtx1, PaCcc2, PaCcs1, PaCox11, PaCox19, PaCox23, PaSco1) konnte eine Expression im Wildstamm nachgewiesen werden. Dazu wurden Standardtechniken (Northern Blot Analyse, RT-PCR) und auch neu etablierte eGFP-Reporterkonstrukte verwendet. In Podospora anserina scheint Kupfer auf zwei verschiedene Arten Einfluss auf die Lebensspanne zu nehmen: Zum einen mittelbar darüber, dass die Verfügbarkeit von Kupfer über die in der mitochondrialen Atmung verwendete Endoxidase entscheidet. Bei Kupfermangel wird eine Eisen-abhängige alternative Oxidase (AOX) induziert. Durch Atmung über die AOX entstehen weniger ROS, was die Lebensspanne verlängert. Anhand einer Vielzahl langlebiger Mutanten konnte dieser Zusammenhang bereits mehrfach demonstriert werden. Zum anderen scheint Kupfer auch eine unmittelbare Rolle in der Seneszenz von P. anserina zu spielen. In früheren Arbeiten konnten mehrere indirekte Hinweise (Transkript- und Aktivitätsanalysen) gesammelt werden, dass im Alter die cytoplasmatische Kupferkonzentration drastisch ansteigt. Durch Messung der Kupferkonzentration mittels einer direkten chemisch-analytische Methode (TXRF) in fraktionierten Zellbestandteilen (Cytoplasma und Mitchondrien) konnten in dieser Arbeit diese Hinweise weiter untermauert werden. Experimente mit in die mitochondriale Matrix geleitetem eGFP brachten zusätzliche Indizien dafür, dass das mitochondriale Kupfer-Reservoir die Quelle des sich in seneszenten Pilzstämmen im Cytoplasma wiederfindenden Kupfers ist. Durch einen Prozess, der größenabhängig reguliert und in anderen Organismen als „Mitochondrial Permeability Transition – MPT“ zu Beginn der Apoptose bekannt ist, ergiesst sich beim Eintritt in die Seneszenz der Inhalt der mitochondrialen Matrix in das Cytosol. Die Bedeutung dieses Vorgangs und v.a. die Folgen der Umverteilung von Kupfer innerhalb der Zelle bleiben im Detail weiter zu klären. Durch die durchgeführten Arbeiten konnte ein weiterer deutlicher Beweis für das Ablaufen apoptotischer Mechansimen im Alterungsprozeß des Ascomyceten P. anserina erbracht werden.The trace element copper is an essential co-factor of several key enzymes (Cu/Zn-SOD, cytochrome c oxidase). Its ability to easily uptake and release electrones qualifies copper to be an ideal reaction partner in redox-reactions. However, a reaction with oxygen gives rise to reactive oxygen species (ROS), widely accepted to be the main reason for cell death and ageing. To avoid the generation of ROS, all aspects of cellular copper metabolism – uptake, distribution and storage - are protein-mediated. In this work it is shown that all components of the machinery of molecular copper homeostasis – except for three proteins – known from other model organsims (S. cerevisiae or H. sapiens) are also found as homologues or orthologues to be coded in the genome of the ascomycete Podospora anserina. The exceptions are all three related to proteins, of which other model organisms possess two or more isoforms, whereas in P. anserina only one homologue/orthologue is found. For several genes (PaAtx1, PaCcc2, PaCcs1, PaCox11, PaCox19, PaCox23, PaSco1) the expression in the wild-type strain could be demonstrated using different standard (nothern blot analysis, RT-PCR) or newly established (GFP-reporter-constructs) methods. Copper obviously influences the lifespan of Podospora anserina in two different ways: The availability of copper determines the oxidase used in the mitochondrial respiratory chain. A shortage in copper supply for the copper-dependent cytochrome c oxidase leads to the induction of the iron-dependent alternative oxidase (AOX). Using AOX instead of COX generates considerably less ROS – the widely accepted main reason for cell-death and ageing. This rather indirect relation of copper and lifespan-control has been demonstrated in several long-lived mutants of P. anserina. But there also seems to be a direct impact of copper on ageing. Several indications gained by the measurement of transcriptional levels and enzymatic activities pointed towards an increase in copper concentration within the cytosol upon induction of senescence. In this work, the copper concentration of fractionated cell compartments (cytosol and mitochondria) was directly measured using an analytical-chemical method (TXRF), consolidating the hypothesis of an increase in cytplasmic copper levels drawn from former indirect experimental results. Using eGFP directed into the mitochondrial matrix brought clear evidence that the matrix copper-pool is the source for the copper found in the senescent cytosol. Upon entry into senescence a gated and size-seletive process known in other eukaryotic model organisms as „mitochondrial permeability transition“ (MPT) as one of the first steps in apoptosis leads to the release of the content of the mitochondrial matrix into the cytosol. The outcome and the consequences of this event need to be further investigated, but the results of the experiments of this work add one more clear evidence that apoptotical mechanisms are associated with the ageing-process of P. anserina