The life and times of the modern law of reservations: the doctrinal genealogy of general comment No. 24

<br>This article represents the first stage of a larger investigative project. Its principal aim is to prepare the ground for a systematic legal-historical examination of a particular international legal document - General Comment No. 24 issued by the Human Rights Committee in November 1994. The immediate goal behind the exercise is to develop a critically-inflected reading of this document by conceptualising it as a legal-historical event.</br> <br>The article combines a close textualist examination of the General Comment with an extensive critical deconstructive exercise, by placing the Comment's core arguments against the background of the broader historical trajectory of the modern law of reservations. Drawing on the methodologies of comparative legal history, Baudrillard's theory of signs, and some basic law and economics, it tries to uncover the main structural components behind its 'vision' so as to establish its relationship to the rest of the 'law of reservations' discourse and grasp its wider significance for the evolution of the modern law of treaties. </br> <br>Written in 2011, this article was eventually published in 2013 in the 2009 volume of the Austrian Review of International and European Law.</br&gt

Synthesis and characterization of lactones by Azotobacter chroococcum

The current paper deals with new metabolites of different groups produced by the Azotobacter chroococcum XU1 strain. Until now, a wide variety of secondary metabolites were documented for this species, but some compounds are being reported for the first time. These compounds—representatives of lactones. An important finding within this survey was the production of lactones, namely 1,5-D-gluconolactone and D, L-mevalonic acid lactone. It is interesting to note that the strain produced 1,5-D-gluconolactone as a response to the substrate modification (C-source): in the D-glucose supplemented Ashby, the major compound was 1,5-D-gluconolactone instead of EPS (which is produced in the sucrose supplemented Ashby)

Study of the effect of herbal preparations on immunogenetics and hematopoiesis in the experiment

When creating an experimental radiation sickness in animals, the development of deep immunodeficiency is observed, which manifests itself in the inhibition of the production of antibodies to the thymus-dependent antigen EB. Introduction to animals with radiation sickness Ginger, Detoxioma, and Gulzar balm help to increase the immune mechanisms of antibody production. Plant preparations can increase thymus nucleated cells in irradiated mice. Ginger, Detoxioma, and Gulzar balm significantly increase the level of erythrocytes and leukocytes in the blood of irradiated animals

Evaluation of the Antimicrobial Activity of Endophytic Bacterial Populations From Chinese Traditional Medicinal Plant Licorice and Characterization of the Bioactive Secondary Metabolites Produced by Bacillus atrophaeus Against Verticillium dahliae

Endophytic bacteria associated with medicinal plants possess unique strategies that enhance growth and suvival of host plants, many of which are mediated by distinctive secondary metabolites. These bacteria and their secondary metabolites are important subjects for both basic and applied research aimed at sustainable agriculture. In the present study, 114 endophytic strains isolated from the wild ethnomedicinal plant Glycyrrhiza uralensis (licorice) were screened for their in vitro antimicrobial activities against common fungal pathogens of tomato (Fusarium oxysporum f. sp., Fulvia fulva, Alternaria solani), cotton (Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. Vesinfectum, Verticillium dahliae), pomegranite (Ceratocystis fimbriata), Cymbidinium (Colletotrichum gloeosporioides), and Tsao-ko (Pestalotiopsis microspora and Fusarium graminearum) and the common bacteria Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Salmonella enteritidis, and Escherichia coli. Several Bacillus strains, particularly Bacillus atrophaeus and Bacillus mojavensis, had a broad spectrum of antifungal and antibacterial activity. A total of 16 strains, selected based on broad antimicrobial activity, were shown to contain at least one putative secondary metabolite-encoding gene (i.e., polyketide synthase or non-ribosomal peptide synthetase) and/or one lytic enzyme (i.e., protease, cellulase, lipase, chitinase), which may be important mediators of antagonistic activity against pathogens. Five strains, representing Bacillus atrophaeus and Bacillus mojavensis, were selected for plant growth chamber experiments based on strong in vitro antifungal activities. All five strains significantly reduced disease severity in Arabidopsis thaliana plants challenged with V. dahlia infection. Gas-chromatography/mass-spectrometry analysis of cell-free extracts of Bacillus atrophaeus strain XEGI50 showed that at least 13 compounds were produced only during co-cultivation with V. dahlia, including putative compounds known to have antimicrobial activity, such as 1,2-benzenedicarboxylic acid, bis (2-methylpropyl) ester; 9,12-octadecadienoic acid (Z,Z)-, methyl ester; 9-octadecenoic acid, methyl ester, (E)-; and decanedioic acid, bis(2-ethylhexyl) ester. To our knowledge, this study is the first to report that bacteria isolated from G. uralensis have biocontrol abilities. Our findings provide new insights into the antimicrobial activities of natural endophytes, particularly B. atrophaeus, and suggest this species may a promising candidate as a biocontrol agent to confer resistance to Verticillium wilt disease and other phytopathogens in cotton and other crops

Building Robust Active Galactic Nuclei Mock Catalogs to Unveil Black Hole Evolution and for Survey Planning

The statistical distributions of active galactic nuclei (AGNs), i.e., accreting supermassive black holes (BHs), in mass, space, and time are controlled by a series of key properties, namely, the BH-galaxy scaling relations, Eddington ratio distributions, and fraction of active BH (duty cycle). Shedding light on these properties yields strong constraints on the AGN triggering mechanisms while providing a clear baseline to create useful mock catalogs for the planning of large galaxy surveys. Here we delineate a robust methodology to create mock AGN catalogs built on top of large N-body dark matter simulations via state-of-the-art semiempirical models. We show that by using as independent tests the AGN clustering at fixed X-ray luminosity, galaxy stellar mass, and BH mass, along with the fraction of AGNs in groups and clusters, it is possible to significantly narrow down the choice in the relation between BH mass and host galaxy stellar mass, the duty cycle, and the average Eddington ratio distribution, delivering well-suited constraints to guide cosmological models for the coevolution of BHs and galaxies. Avoiding such a step-by-step methodology inevitably leads to strong degeneracies in the final mock catalogs, severely limiting their usefulness in understanding AGN evolution and in survey planning and testing.Peer reviewe

INTERACTION MECHANISM OF ROCK WITH DEEP WATER

Relevance. Prediction of earthquakes is one of the most difficult actual problems of mankind. The complexity of the forecast is in the fact that, firstly, the processes in earthquake origin are stochastic and do not allow to give a deterministic evaluation. Secondly, the mechanism for generating the earthquake origin is not completely revealed. It is established that stress accumulation in the fault (at the boundaries of tectonic plates) is associated with the variation of local stress fields, the change in frictional coefficient in the fault, the variation in fluid processes, and so on. Consequently, the study of the mechanism of saturation of tiny fracture and the mechanism of rock interaction in the earthquake origin with juvenile water, which leads to earthquakes, is a very urgent task. Purpose of the work. Determination of the mechanism of rock interaction with deep water and the development of mathematical models of rock performance when subjected to loadings taking into account the nonlinear effect of the load diagram and rock fold diagram. Methodology of the study. The work gives the analysis of issues for determining the mechanism of earthquakes. A new approach to determination of this mechanism is proposed. It is shown that deep water is one of the determining factors in the beginning and development of earthquake origin. Results. A method for determining the mechanism of earthquakes beginning is proposed, as well as some mathematical models that approximate the experimental data of rock performance when subjected to loadings in the process of filtration of deep water into tiny fractures of rock in the earthquake origin taking into account the nonlinear effect. Conclusions. The current state of the earthquake prediction problem is analyzed. It is shown that the geodetic information for forecasting the location and strength of earthquakes is more accurate. The way of rock fragmentation under general compression is shown. The nature of stress accumulation in the earthquake origin is described. The mathematical models are proposed; they sufficiently (with an average relative error of 2.13%) describe the experimental data obtained while loading rock samples taking into account the mode of dilatancy