bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Equality of Opportunity? Sex, Race, and Occupational Advantages in Promotion to Top-Level Management
Authors: Marvel John D
Published: October 2020

We examine how occupation, race, and sex interact to affect employees’ probability of promotion to the upper reaches of federal agencies’ personnel hierarchies. Three interrelated questions draw our attention. First, we are interested in whether employees who are members of an agency’s dominant occupational group are more likely to be promoted to Senior Executive Service (SES) positions than employees who are members of non-dominant occupational groups. Second, we are interested in whether any such occupational advantage, if it exists, is enjoyed equally by white men, white women, men of color, and women of color. Third, we examine whether the magnitude of dominant occupational advantages varies between agencies. We use rich, micro-level personnel data that span the years 1979–2013 to address these questions. Our results suggest that members of dominant occupations are more likely to be promoted than members of non-dominant occupations; that white men, white women, men of color, and women of color tend to benefit from this advantage equally; and that occupational advantages vary considerably between agencies.
Barriers to international travel in inflammatory bowel disease patients
Authors: Aluzaite Kristina , Greveson Kay , Ben-Horin Shomron , Leong Rupert , Haj Ola , Schultz Michael
Published: October 2020

Background

Inflammatory bowel disease poses substantial challenges to travel. We aimed to investigate inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD)-associated challenges to travel, information-seeking behaviour and associated factors.

Methods

We collected data on patients’ demographics, disease characteristics, travel barriers, information-seeking behaviour and travel outcomes in UK, Australia, New Zealand and Israel (2016–2018). Summary statistics were used to describe the sample, whereas multivariate binary and nominal logistic regression were used to model the outcome variables.

Results

Almost 75.4% (1878/2491) participants’ data were analysed with 71.14%, 15.4%, 11.2% and 2.1% from UK, Australia, NZ and Israel, respectively (76.3% females, 48.2% 30–49 years old 58.8% Crohn’s disease). About 7.7% of study participants sought medical advice/were hospitalised while overseas. About 43.8% cancelled/changed their plans due to IBD. The most common barriers were worry about toilet facilities (76.3%), cleanliness/sanitation (50.9%) and availability of medical care (41.1%). Only 60.5% sought travel advice; the most popular information source was IBD doctor/nurse (32.6%). Almost 32.6% of study participants did not get travel insurance that covered their IBD. Those who did not receive advice or found obtaining travel insurance difficult, were less likely to obtain travel insurance (P < 0.001). Participants who travelled for work were more likely to be hospitalised/seek medical advice overseas and not obtain travel insurance.

Conclusions

We report a detailed investigation on the IBD-associated barriers while travelling abroad, common information-seeking behaviours and factors associated with worse outcomes. Importantly, patients from all the surveyed countries provided similar travel barrier and preparation habits, highlighting the consistent nature of the challenge.
The mechanism of regulation of photosystem I cross-section in the pennate diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum
Authors: Giovagnetti Vasco , Ruban Alexander V
Published: October 2020

Photosystems possess distinct fluorescence emissions at low (77K) temperature. PSI emits in the long-wavelength region at ~710–740 nm. In diatoms, a successful clade of marine primary producers, the contribution of PSI-associated emission (710–717 nm) has been shown to be relatively small. However, in the pennate diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum, the source of the long-wavelength emission at ~710 nm (F710) remains controversial. Here, we addressed the origin and modulation of F710 fluorescence in this alga grown under continuous and intermittent light. The latter condition led to a strong enhancement in F710. Biochemical and spectral properties of the photosynthetic complexes isolated from thylakoid membranes were investigated for both culture conditions. F710 emission appeared to be associated with PSI regardless of light acclimation. To further assess whether PSII could also contribute to this emission, we decreased the concentration of PSII reaction centres and core antenna by growing cells with lincomycin, a chloroplast protein synthesis inhibitor. The treatment did not diminish F710 fluorescence. Our data suggest that F710 emission originates from PSI under the conditions tested and is enhanced in intermittent light-grown cells due to increased energy flow from the FCP antenna to PSI.
Palestinian Refugees in International Law
Authors: Albanese Francesca P , Takkenberg Lex
Published: October 2020

The Palestinian refugee question, resulting from the events surrounding the creation of the state of Israel seventy years ago, remains one of the largest and most protracted refugee crises of the post-Second World War era. Numbering over six million in the Middle East alone, Palestinian refugees’ status and treatment varies considerably according to the state or territory ‘hosting’ them, the UN agency assisting them, and political circumstances surrounding the Israeli–Palestinian conflict these refugees are naturally associated with. Despite being foundational to both the experience of the Palestinian refugees and the resolution of their plight, international law has not been a decisive factor in discussions concerning their fate. This compelling new edition offers a clear and comprehensive analysis of various areas of international law (including refugee law, human rights law, humanitarian law, the law relating to stateless persons, principles related to internally displaced persons, as well as notions of international criminal law), and probes the relevance of their interplay to the provision of international protection for Palestinian refugees and their quest for durable solutions.
Introduction to the Question of Palestinian Refugees and the Second Edition
Authors: Albanese Francesca P , Takkenberg Lex
Published: October 2020

This chapter introduces the readers to both rationale and content of the new expanded edition of Palestine Refugees in International Law. It underscores the legal and factual developments that motivated the authors to write what is in essence a new book on the foundations of the first edition. It provides an overview of its structure and key messages, the methodology and some of the key terminology used in the book (e.g. ‘Palestine refugee’ vs ‘Palestinian refugee’). It explains how international law is used throughout the book and why a holistic approach to the Palestinian question is necessary not only to effectively grant them the protection they are entitled to under international law but also to advance toward just a durable solutions to their plight.
The Status of Palestinian Refugees in the Middle East and North Africa
Authors: Albanese Francesca P , Takkenberg Lex
Published: October 2020

This chapter looks at the history, status, and treatment of Palestinian refugees in the Arab world. Arab countries have generally supported Palestinians, including refugees, in the name of Arab brotherhood and solidarity, but at times also despised them, as a result of political factors and interests. In general, they have been granted varying status and treatment, often within the same country, depending on a variety of factors, including: time of arrival and predominant political climate toward them; their socio-economic status and family, political, or religious affiliation; shifting attitudes toward the Palestinian leadership. The citizenship that Jordan granted to most 1948 Palestinian refugees, has proven carrying inequality. In Lebanon, Palestinian arrivals, largely Sunni Muslims, were perceived as a threat to the delicate balance between different religious groups and the related political status quo; discrimination has been the daily reality for three generations of Palestinians. In Iraq and Syria, Palestinian refugees were well treated until the wars of 2003 and 2011, respectively. In Egypt political shifts have dramatically marked the fate the Palestinians in the country. While welcoming Palestinians as an extraordinary work-force in the 1950s and through the 1970s, Arab rulers – from North Africa to the Arabian Peninsula – also perceived their unwavering Palestinian identity and the political message it encompassed as a possible destabilizing factor for their regimes. Vindictive policies, often aiming at targeting the PLO, have made Palestinians in the region vulnerable to abuses and further displacement. About 700,000 Palestinians, mostly children and grandchildren of the 1948 refugees, have been cumulatively displaced from Arab countries from the 1970s onward.
Palestinian ‘Diaspora’ in Europe, the Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Africa
Authors: Albanese Francesca P , Takkenberg Lex
Published: October 2020

This chapter highlights Palestinian dispersal in Europe, the Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Africa. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, members of the Palestinian (refugee) ‘diaspora’ have progressively found roots in all continents. Palestinians who were abroad at the end of the British Mandate and in 1948 were not allowed to return effectively became the first Palestinian refugees sur place. In the 1950s and 1960s, Palestinian refugees (including descendants) moved further afield from their places of residence (often de facto asylum), namely Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and present-day occupied Palestinian territory (oPt). They moved primarily to MENA countries, but also, to Western Europe and North America, looking for better life opportunities and increasingly, from the 1980s and 1990s, for international protection. This triggered the application of Article 1D(2) of the 1951 Refugee Convention discussed in Chapter II. In many countries, however, Article 1D continues not to be applied (or not applied properly), with claims of Palestinian refugees being assessed under Article 1A(2), downplaying the distinctive regime set up for them under the 1951 Convention, and the continuity of protection incorporated therein. Countries that offer more robust protection – including through accessible naturalization procedures – have steadily represented important destinations for Palestinians fleeing various parts of the Middle East in search of safe haven. However, in recent years restrictive asylum policies in Western countries (rectius, the Global North) may have contributed to an unprecedented rise in numbers of Palestinian refugees seeking sanctuary in new destinations. Ultimately, the growing Palestinian dispersal around the world, marked by growing vulnerability to protection therats, is a direct result of the failure to find a just solution to their plight.
Protection of Palestinian Refugees
Authors: Albanese Francesca P , Takkenberg Lex
Published: October 2020

This chapter examines the protection dimension of the distinctive regime set up for Palestinian refugees in an historical and comparative fashion. It then addresses the need for international protection of Palestinian refugees. As Palestinian refugees in need of protection have spread outside UNRWA’s area of operations, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) became increasingly involved. Since the mid-2000s, cooperation between UNHCR and UNRWA has become more structured. As awareness of the protection needs of Palestinians has increased, so have the contributions of others, including UN agencies and human rights mechanisms, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and the Palestinians’ own embassies. These developments reflect a profound change: a shift from treating protection of Palestinians as something exceptional and separate from the global regime for refugees to a recognition that their protection is and should be treated as an integral, albeit distinct, part of that regime. Ultimately, a major improvement in the protection of Palestinian refugees would occur if states and regional bodies fully honoured their commitments and obligations under international law, and, for those state parties to the international refugee regime, the obligations stemming from it. For this to happen and to ensure continuity of protection, the partnership between UNRWA and UNHCR should be upgraded through a comprehensive approach aimed at ensuring that practices fully align with the provisions of relevant UN resolutions, Article 1D of the 1951 Convention and human rights norms.
Alternatives to Treaty-Making— Informal
Agreements
Authors: Meyer Timothy
Published: October 2020

In international norm-making, actors other than States participate in ways that bear some similarities to norm-making among States. These alternatives to formal treaty-making produce a wide range of instruments with many different kinds of labels, such as MOUs, soft law, and political commitments. This chapter reviews the existing literature and practice on informal lawmaking. Section I begins by reviewing basic definitional issues, as well as three contexts in which international lawyers confront non-binding agreements. Section II canvasses the existing literature on why States and non-State actors turn to informal agreements. Section III turns to normative matters, arguing that non-binding agreements are not significantly less efficacious or accountable than binding international agreements. The chapter ends with a call for States to continue to develop guidelines for informal lawmaking — work already begun by the Inter-American Juridical Committee.
Who
Can Make Treaties? Other Subjects of International Law
Authors: Grant Tom
Published: October 2020

This chapter discuses treaty-making by ‘other subjects of international law’. These other subjects of international law may be divided into four categories. First, there are territories integral to a State — especially the units which constitute a federal State. Second, there are external territories, the foreign relations of which normally are the responsibility of a State albeit under a variety of relationships. Third, insurgent groups — entities which seek to displace an existing State in all or part of its territory and themselves to assume the functions of the State — have been said to enter into international agreements as well. Finally, private actors — including corporations, nongovernmental organizations and individuals — may be international law subjects for some purposes; the extent to which this is the case remains in flux.
NGOs
in International Treaty-Making
Authors: Raustiala Kal
Published: October 2020

This chapter surveys the role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in treatymaking. It asks four key questions about the relationship between NGOs and treatymaking. First, what roles do NGOs play today in treaty processes, and how have these roles changed? Second, what explains the increased prominence of NGOs? Third, are NGOs a salutary addition to treatymaking or illegitimate special interests? And finally, Fourth, what is the broader significance of NGO activity for international law and international order? NGOs are clearly important players in treatymaking today. But their roles remain, to a large degree, circumscribed and controlled by States. At the most fundamental level, the presence of NGOs in contemporary treatymaking and implementation is a sign of the expansion of the domain of treatymaking.
Provisional Application of Treaties
Authors: Azaria Danae
Published: October 2020

This chapter focuses on the provisional application of treaties, examining whether and how international law accommodates treaty-makers’ desire to apply their treaties sooner than the text’s entry-into-force provisions (or more pertinently domestic legal requirements) allow. Part I begins with an examination of the shift in terminology from ‘provisional entry into force’ to ‘provisional application’. Part II explores the formal source of the binding effect of provisional application and the forms it can take. Part III takes up the legal effects of provisional application. Part IV deals with the relationship between provisional application and domestic law, and Part V with the termination of provisional application. The chapter finishes with some conclusions on provisional application and the future developments in this area.
The
Relationship(s) between Treaties and Territory
Authors: Karagiannis Syméon
Published: October 2020

This chapter examines the relationship between treaties and territory. Article 29 of the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties provides that ‘unless a different intention appears from the treaty or is otherwise established, a treaty is binding upon each party in respect of its entire territory’. However, the provision quickly begs a question: Are States bound to apply all of their treaties’ provisions only on their national territory (or selected parts of it)? This chapter begins by examining the ambit of Article 29. It then contrasts the traditional territorial application of treaties with treaties that may be labelled as ‘non-territorial’ whether because of the treaty’s objects or parties. It closes with the more controversial topic of extraterritorial applications of treaties, examining whether and how States might be held to their treaty obligations in activities that they control outside their territory.
Treaty Amendments
Authors: Brunnée Jutta
Published: October 2020

This chapter explores treaty amendments — an area where the practice regularly departs from the default rules of the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT), including procedural mechanisms that affect amendments without requiring each party’s explicit consent. The Convention built on draft articles that the International Law Commission (ILC) submitted to the UN General Assembly in 1966. With some notable exceptions, the VCLT codified the existing customary international law on treaties. The topic of treaty amendment came to be included in the ILC’s draft articles only in 1964. Given the basic principle that a State’s rights under a treaty could not be modified without their consent, amendments were widely seen as raising political and diplomatic, rather than legal, issues.
Domestic Application of Treaties
Authors: Sloss David L
Published: October 2020

This chapter surveys how domestic legal systems approach treaty application and the varied treatment that results from different treaty types and domestic actor preferences. Traditional scholarship on the domestic application of treaties has focused on the distinction between monist and dualist legal systems. Part I of this chapter explains that distinction: in brief, the monist-dualist divide hinges on the role of the legislative branch in incorporating and implementing treaties domestically. Part II explains the distinction between horizontal, vertical, and transnational treaty provisions. Part III addresses the functional distinction between nationalist and transnationalist approaches to judicial application of treaties. Part IV discusses the crucial role of domestic courts in promoting compliance with treaty obligations, especially transnational and vertical treaty obligations.
Treaty Bodies and Regimes
Authors: Ulfstein Geir
Published: October 2020

This chapter examines the current status of treaty bodies in international law and practice. Treaty bodies serve various functions. Some have many characteristics of an international organization (IO). In the international environmental context, treaty bodies have a multiplicity of tasks, including developing new substantive commitments, guiding sub-organs and the secretariat, and ensuring implementation of States’ obligations. The chapter explores why States have established treaty bodies the various structural forms they take, as well as their authority to act both internally and externally, on topics such as substantive decision-making, compliance, and coordination with other treaty bodies, IOs, and States. The analysis reveals how treaty bodies reflect developments towards an increasingly public character of international law, as international organs exercising functions delegated by States. They may also be seen as aspects of a growing international legalization, judicialization — and even constitutionalization — of international law.
Treaty Conflicts and Systemic Fragmentation
Authors: Borgen Christopher J
Published: October 2020

This chapter examines treaty conflicts and the systemic fragmentation of international law more generally. It focuses on fragmentation through the optic of conflicting obligations between treaties, as well as, to a lesser extent, between a treaty and another source of law. The chapter proceeds in three parts. Part I reviews the causes of normative conflict. Part II examines the various ways a treaty can conflict with another treaty or source of law. Part III surveys different techniques for addressing normative conflict via conflict avoidance clauses, treaty interpretation, the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, and the classic canons of treaty construction (lex prior, lex posterior, and lex specialis). The chapter concludes with a discussion of the broader theme concerning international law’s systemic fragmentation.
The
Vienna Convention Rules on Treaty Interpretation
Authors: Gardiner Richard
Published: October 2020

This chapter offers a nuanced account of one of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties’s seminal contributions to international law — a single set of interpretative ‘principles’ if not actual rules. It addresses two questions. The first is in what sense are the Vienna rules on treaty interpretation ‘rules’? The second is how are the rules to be used in interpreting treaties? The answer to the first question provides much of the answer to the second one. But the second is worth additional attention, mainly because the rules’ application in practice reveals interpretations that do not stand out from simply reading them.
Specialized Rules of Treaty Interpretation
Authors: Çalı Başak
Published: October 2020

This chapter ask: Is the interpretation of treaties regulating international human rights a specialized regime? It starts by discussing what it means to have specialized rules for treaty interpretation in the field of international human rights treaties. It then turns to the interpretive strategies developed across human rights treaties. It shows that human rights treaty interpretation is specialized in the sense that making these treaties and their provisions ‘effective’ in application animates how human rights interpreters approach treaty interpretation. Next, the chapter considers how the forum for interpretation matters, be it specialized or generalist international bodies or domestic courts. It concludes by emphasising that the relationship between human rights treaty interpretation and general rules of treaty interpretation has a symbiotic relationship. Human rights treaty interpretation has not only produced specialised interpretive canons but has also extorted some influence on our understanding of the general rules of treaty of interpretation.
Domains of Warfare
Authors: McCosker Sarah
Published: October 2020

This chapter examines ‘domains’ of warfare, which are generally understood as the operational environments in which armed conflict occurs, and to which international humanitarian law (IHL) therefore applies. Until recent decades, domains of armed conflict have been largely predicated on geospatial conceptions, denoting the physical places where armed conflict has customarily occurred: land, sea, and air. General IHL applies across all these areas—including the fundamental principles of humanity, military necessity, and proportionality; restrictions or prohibitions of certain means and methods of warfare; and basic rules requiring humane treatment of persons and respect for civilians and civilian property. Over time, however, the particular exigencies of land, sea, and air warfare have led to the development of some specific IHL rules and principles tailored to each of those environments. Discussing domains of armed conflict therefore offers a window into the historical development of IHL. It shows how the emergence of new operational environments and new means and methods of armed conflict catalyses efforts at legal regulation, which can lead to the development of new domains or sub-sets of IHL. The chapter then considers how the idea of a domain might apply to armed conflict in outer space, and armed conflict involving cyber operations and other emerging capabilities.
International Humanitarian Law and the Conduct of Hostilities
Authors: Schmitt Michael N
Published: October 2020

This chapter explores the principles and rules of international humanitarian law (IHL) that govern the conduct of hostilities by states and other participants during an armed conflict. The term ‘conduct of hostilities’ refers to the application of force in the course of such conflicts. In particular, it encompasses the various methods (tactics) and the means (weapons) that are used during the hostilities. Those aspects of IHL that address the conduct of hostilities can best be understood by reference to a normative typology consisting of foundational principles, general principles, and rules. There are two foundational principles underlying the IHL applicable to the conduct of hostilities: military necessity and humanity. Whereas foundational principles broadly inform IHL, general IHL principles are the sources of individual rules. Rules are the instruments by which states, the sole generators of IHL, agree to limit their freedom of action, and that of other participants, during an armed conflict. The chapter then looks at certain new technologies warfare and highlights the key legal issues they raise with respect to the conduct of hostilities.
Methods of Warfare
Authors: Gaggioli Gloria , Melzer Nils
Published: October 2020

This chapter studies the rules of international humanitarian law (IHL) which regulate methods of warfare. The so-called ‘Hague Law’, which regulates the use of means and methods of warfare so as to mitigate—as much as possible—the ‘calamities of war’, is the oldest branch of IHL. Its basic tenet can be summarized in three fundamental maxims. The first maxim expresses the basic principle of military necessity, which limits the permissibility of means and methods of warfare to what is actually required for the achievement of a legitimate military purpose. The second maxim provides the basis for the prohibition of means and methods of warfare that are of a nature to cause superfluous injury or unnecessary suffering to combatants. The third maxim concerns the principle of distinction, which prohibits not only direct attacks against civilians and the civilian population, but also indiscriminate means and methods of warfare. Both the prohibition of unnecessary suffering and the principle of distinction are regarded as ‘cardinal principles’ of IHL by the International Court of Justice and, in this basic form, are universally accepted as part of customary international law. The chapter then outlines the current state of the law regulating methods of warfare.
Weapons
Authors: Casey-Maslen Stuart
Published: October 2020

This chapter focuses on weapons, which are integral to the use of force. However, there is no accepted definition of what constitutes a weapon under international law. It seems clear, though, that the notion is broader than ‘arms’, which are factory-produced weapons, especially when destined for the military market. The notion of a weapon would thus encompass a dual-use item, such as a knife, and adapted devices such as improvised explosive devices (IEDs) or a ‘dirty bomb’, where radioactive material is associated with conventional explosives. The term could also be applied to the use of the internet in a cyber-attack wherein computer code is ‘weaponized’, for instance, in viruses or worms. International humanitarian law (IHL) has traditionally focused on prohibiting or restricting the use of weapons—whether under its Geneva law or Hague law branches—while disarmament law addressed their manufacture and supply. In the future, IHL will need to apply additional restrictions to specific means or methods of warfare. As of now, there are a number of challenging regulatory issues in the area of weapons law, including fully autonomous weapons, cyber weapons, and nuclear weapons, as well as the use of conventional weapons in space.
Volume uncertainty of (7) Iris shape models from disc-resolved images
Authors: Dudziński G , Podlewska-Gaca E , Bartczak P , Benseguane S , Ferrais M , Jorda L , Hanuš J , Vernazza P , Rambaux N , Carry B , Marchis F , Marsset M , Viikinkoski M , Brož M , Fetick R , Drouard A , Fusco T , Birlan M , Jehin E , Berthier J , Castillo-Rogez J , Cipriani F , Colas F , Dumas C , Kryszczynska A , Lamy P , Le Coroller H , Marciniak A , Michalowski T , Michel P , Santana-Ros T , Tanga P , Vachier F , Vigan A , Witasse O , Yang B
Published: October 2020

High angular resolution disc-resolved images of (7) Iris collected by VLT/SPHERE instrument are allowed for the detailed shape modelling of this large asteroid revealing its surface features. If (7) Iris did not suffer any events catastrophic enough to disrupt the body (which is very likely) by studying its topography, we might get insights into the early Solar system’s collisional history. When it comes to internal structure and composition, thoroughly assessing the volume and density uncertainties is necessary. In this work, we propose a method of uncertainty calculation of asteroid shape models based on light curve and adaptive optics (AO) images. We apply this method on four models of (7) Iris produced from independent Shaping Asteroids using Genetic Evolution and All-Data Asteroid Modelling inversion techniques and multiresolution photoclinometry by deformation. Obtained diameter uncertainties stem from both the observations from which the models were scaled and the models themselves. We show that despite the availability of high-resolution AO images, the volume and density of (7) Iris have substantial error bars that were underestimated in the previous studies.
Bayesian analysis of running holographic Ricci dark energy
Authors: George Paxy , Mathew Titus K
Published: October 2020

Holographic Ricci dark energy evolving through its interaction with dark matter is a natural choice for the running vacuum energy model. We have analysed the relative significance of two versions of this model in the light of type Ia supernovae (SN1a), the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), the Baryonic Acoustic Oscillations (BAO), and Hubble data sets using the method Bayesian inferences. The first one, model 1, is the running holographic Ricci dark energy (rhrde) having a constant additive term in its density form and the second is one, model 2, having no additive constant, instead the interaction of rhrde with dark matter (ΛCDM) is accounted through a phenomenological coupling term. The Bayes factor of these models in comparison with the standard Lambda cold dark matter have been obtained by calculating the likelihood of each model for four different data combinations, SNIa(307)+CMB+BAO, SNIa(307)+CMB+BAO+Hubble data, SNIa(580)+CMB+BAO, and SNIa(580)+CMB+BAO+Hubble data. Suitable flat priors for the model parameters has been assumed for calculating the likelihood in both cases. Our analysis shows that, according to the Jeffreys scale, the evidence for ΛCDM against both model 1 and model 2 is very strong as the Bayes factor of both models are much less than one for all the data combinations.
Satellite measurements of artificial light at night: aerosol effects
Authors: Cavazzani S , Ortolani S , Bertolo A , Binotto R , Fiorentin P , Carraro G , Zitelli V
Published: October 2020

The study of artificial light at night (ALAN) by satellite is very important for the analysis of new astronomical sites and for the long-term temporal evolution observation of the emission from the ground. The analysis of satellite data presents many advantages but also some critical points because of fluctuations in measurements. The main result of this paper is the discovery of a correlation between these fluctuations and the aerosol concentration combined with cloud cover and lunar cycles. In this work, we also present a mathematical empirical model for the light pollution propagation study in relation to the aerosol concentration detected by satellite. We apply this model to the astronomical site of Asiago (Ekar Observatory) providing a possible explanation for the temporal ALAN fluctuations detected by satellite. Finally, we validate the results with the ground collected data.
Polydisperse streaming instability – I. Tightly coupled particles and the terminal velocity approximation
Authors: Paardekooper Sijme-Jan , McNally Colin P , Lovascio Francesco
Published: October 2020

We introduce a polydisperse version of the streaming instability (SI), where the dust component is treated as a continuum of sizes. We show that its behaviour is remarkably different from the monodisperse SI. We focus on tightly coupled particles in the terminal velocity approximation and show that unstable modes that grow exponentially on a dynamical time-scale exist. However, for dust to gas ratios much smaller than unity, they are confined to radial wavenumbers that are a factor $\sim 1/{\overline{\rm St}}$ larger than where the monodisperse SI growth rates peak. Here ${\overline{\rm St}}\ll 1$ is a suitable average Stokes number for the dust size distribution. For dust to gas ratios larger than unity, polydisperse modes that grow on a dynamical time-scale are found as well, similar as for the monodisperse SI and at similarly large wavenumbers. At smaller wavenumbers, where the classical monodisperse SI shows secular growth, no growing polydisperse modes are found under the terminal velocity approximation. Outside the region of validity for the terminal velocity approximation, we have found unstable epicyclic modes that grow on ∼104 dynamical time-scales.
ThermoMutDB: a thermodynamic database for missense mutations
Authors: Xavier Joicymara S , Nguyen Thanh-Binh , Karmarkar Malancha , Portelli Stephanie , Rezende Pâmela M , Velloso João P L , Ascher David B , Pires Douglas E V
Published: October 2020

Proteins are intricate, dynamic structures, and small changes in their amino acid sequences can lead to large effects on their folding, stability and dynamics. To facilitate the further development and evaluation of methods to predict these changes, we have developed ThermoMutDB, a manually curated database containing >14,669 experimental data of thermodynamic parameters for wild type and mutant proteins. This represents an increase of 83% in unique mutations over previous databases and includes thermodynamic information on 204 new proteins. During manual curation we have also corrected annotation errors in previously curated entries. Associated with each entry, we have included information on the unfolding Gibbs free energy and melting temperature change, and have associated entries with available experimental structural information. ThermoMutDB supports users to contribute to new data points and programmatic access to the database via a RESTful API. ThermoMutDB is freely available at: http://biosig.unimelb.edu.au/thermomutdb.
PubChem in 2021: new data content and improved web interfaces
Authors: Kim Sunghwan , Chen Jie , Cheng Tiejun , Gindulyte Asta , He Jia , He Siqian , Li Qingliang , Shoemaker Benjamin A , Thiessen Paul A , Yu Bo , Zaslavsky Leonid , Zhang Jian , Bolton Evan E
Published: October 2020

PubChem (https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) is a popular chemical information resource that serves the scientific community as well as the general public, with millions of unique users per month. In the past two years, PubChem made substantial improvements. Data from more than 100 new data sources were added to PubChem, including chemical-literature links from Thieme Chemistry, chemical and physical property links from SpringerMaterials, and patent links from the World Intellectual Properties Organization (WIPO). PubChem's homepage and individual record pages were updated to help users find desired information faster. This update involved a data model change for the data objects used by these pages as well as by programmatic users. Several new services were introduced, including the PubChem Periodic Table and Element pages, Pathway pages, and Knowledge panels. Additionally, in response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, PubChem created a special data collection that contains PubChem data related to COVID-19 and the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).
DDBJ update: streamlining submission and access of human data
Authors: Fukuda Asami , Kodama Yuichi , Mashima Jun , Fujisawa Takatomo , Ogasawara Osamu
Published: October 2020

The Bioinformation and DDBJ Center (DDBJ Center, https://www.ddbj.nig.ac.jp) provides databases that capture, preserve and disseminate diverse biological data to support research in the life sciences. This center collects nucleotide sequences with annotations, raw sequencing data, and alignment information from high-throughput sequencing platforms, and study and sample information, in collaboration with the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) and the European Bioinformatics Institute (EBI). This collaborative framework is known as the International Nucleotide Sequence Database Collaboration (INSDC). In collaboration with the National Bioscience Database Center (NBDC), the DDBJ Center also provides a controlled-access database, the Japanese Genotype–phenotype Archive (JGA), which archives and distributes human genotype and phenotype data, requiring authorized access. The NBDC formulates guidelines and policies for sharing human data and reviews data submission and use applications. To streamline all of the processes at NBDC and JGA, we have integrated the two systems by introducing a unified login platform with a group structure in September 2020. In addition to the public databases, the DDBJ Center provides a computer resource, the NIG supercomputer, for domestic researchers to analyze large-scale genomic data. This report describes updates to the services of the DDBJ Center, focusing on the NBDC and JGA system enhancements.
Circulating plasmablasts and high level of BAFF are hallmarks of minimal change nephrotic syndrome in adults
Authors: Oniszczuk Julie , Beldi-Ferchiou Asma , Audureau Etienne , Azzaoui Imane , Molinier-Frenkel Valérie , Frontera Vincent , Karras Alexandre , Moktefi Anissa , Pillebout Evangeline , Zaidan Mohamad , El Karoui Khalil , Delfau-Larue Marie-Hélène , Hénique Carole , Ollero Mario , Sahali Dil , Mahévas Matthieu , Audard Vincent
Published: October 2020

Background

The recent success achieved with the use of B cell-depleting agents in some patients with minimal change nephrotic syndrome (MCNS) suggests an unexpected role for B lymphocytes in the pathogenesis of this immune-mediated glomerular disease. Nevertheless, no extensive B-cell phenotyping analysis has ever been performed in untreated adult patients soon after MCNS diagnosis.

Methods

We investigated the distribution of the different B-cell subpopulations in 22 untreated adult patients with biopsy-proven MCNS [MCNS relapse (MCNS-Rel)]. We compared these data with those for 24 healthy controls, 13 MCNS patients in remission (with no specific treatment) and 19 patients with idiopathic membranous nephropathy (IMN).

Results

Patients with MCNS-Rel or IMN had higher proteinuria and lower serum albumin and gammaglobulin levels (P < 0.0001 for all comparisons) than MCNS patients in remission. Plasmablasts were the only B-cell subsets present at significantly higher levels in MCNS-Rel patients than in the patients of the other three groups (P < 0.05 for all comparisons). The lower albumin levels and higher proteinuria levels were positively correlated with the percentage of circulating plasmablasts (Spearman test’s ρ = −0.54, P = 0.01 and ρ = 0.65, P = 0.002, respectively). Similarly, the increase of immunoglobulin M (IgM) and the decrease of IgG levels were significantly associated with the percentage of plasmablasts in MCNS-Rel patients (Spearman’s ρ = 0.36, P = 0.01 and Spearman’s ρ = −0.60, P = 0.01, respectively). Increased production of interleukin (IL)-21, IL-6 and B-cell activating factor (BAFF) in the serum of MCNS-Rel patients was found significantly correlated with the percentage of plasmablasts (ρ = 0.72, P = 0.0002, ρ = 0.49, P = 0.04 and ρ = 0.62, P = 0.009, respectively).

Conclusions

An increase in the proportion of circulating plasmablasts seems to be a hallmark of untreated MCNS in adult patients. Further studies are required to more precisely determine the phenotype and functions of these cells.
The natural history of vestibular schwannoma growth—prospective 40-year data from an unselected national cohort
Authors: Reznitsky Martin , Petersen Mette Marie Babiel Schmidt , West Niels , Stangerup Sven-Eric , Cayé-Thomasen Per
Published: October 2020

Background

Optimal management of vestibular schwannoma (VS) is still debated and thus international consensus has not been achieved. Treatment options are observation, radiotherapy, and surgery. Knowledge on the natural history of tumor growth is essential for choice of treatment modality. The aim is to present intra-/extrameatal tumor growth and management data from a prospective, unselected national cohort of patients diagnosed with VS during the period 1976–2015.

Methods

Since 1976, all data from patients diagnosed with sporadic VS in Denmark have been referred to our national treatment center, where they have been entered prospectively into the national database. Data on tumor localization, growth, and treatment were retrieved. Growth definition: >2 mm by linear measurement, in accordance with the Tokyo 2001 consensus-meeting recommendations.

Results

3637 cases of VS were diagnosed, in which 1304 patients had surgery and 21 received radiotherapy post diagnosis. 2312 patients were observed with mean follow-up of 7.33 years. Of these, 434(19%; 102 intra-and 332 extrameatal tumors) changed to active treatment during the observation period due to tumor growth. 5 years after diagnosis, 21% of the intrameatal tumors exhibited growth during observation, whereas 37% of extrameatal tumors had grown, increasing to 25% intrameatal and 42% extrameatal after 10 years. Following growth, the intrameatal tumors were mostly observed further and the extrameatal mostly underwent surgery. Tumor growth occurred mainly within the first 5 years post diagnosis.

Conclusion

This natural history study documents the growth occurrence of both intra-and extrameatal VS during the first 12 years after diagnosis and should be used in patient counseling, management, and treatment decision making.
Minimally Invasive Posterior Cervical Foraminotomy Using 3-Dimensional Total Navigation: 2-Dimensional Operative Video
Authors: Kirnaz Sertac , Nangunoori Raj , Wong Taylor , Schmidt Franziska Anna , Härtl Roger
Published: October 2020

Minimally invasive posterior cervical foraminotomy (MPCF) has shown comparable outcomes to those of an open approach, with shorter operation times and length of hospital stays, as well as decreased blood loss and inpatient analgesic use. This surgical technique is mainly used to treat unilateral radiculopathy due to foraminal soft disc fragments or bone spurs. Three-dimensional (3D) navigation-guidance facilitates the surgical workflow, and it is utilized in planning the incision, determining the extent of the medial facetectomy, and confirming sufficient decompression, especially in the lower cervical spine and cervicothoracic junction, where the shoulders make localization with fluoroscopy difficult. In this video, we present the case of a 49-yr-old male patient with mechanical neck pain and C8 radiculopathy due to multilevel cervical spinal stenosis with disc herniations and C7-T1 right-sided foraminal stenosis. There was loss of cervical lordosis at the upper levels. The patient underwent anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) at the C4-5, C5-6, and C6-7 levels to treat mechanical neck pain and restore lordosis. In order to avoid an extra-level fusion and preserve motion, we performed a right-sided C7-T1 MPCF using a portable intraoperative computed tomography (iCT) scanner (Airo®; Brainlab AG, Feldkirchen, Germany), combined with 3D computer navigation to address the patient's radicular symptoms.

Patient consent was obtained prior to performing the procedure.
High-Mg# Adakitic Rocks Formed by Lower-crustal Magma Differentiation: Mineralogical and Geochemical Evidence from Garnet-bearing Diorite Porphyries in Central Tibet
Authors: Wang Jun , Dan Wei , Wang Qiang , Tang Gong-Jian
Published: October 2020

Modern arc adakites with high Mg# values (molar 100 × Mg/(Mg + Fe) ratio) are generally considered products of interaction between melts derived from subducted oceanic crust and/or eroded forearc crust and peridotite in the mantle wedge. An alternative model, in which high-Mg# adakitic rocks are produced by garnet fractionation of mantle-derived magmas, has been proposed based on whole-rock geochemical variations; however, magmatic garnet has not been found in high-Mg# adakitic rocks, and little is known about the physical conditions required for this magmatic differentiation. Here we report geochronological, mineralogical and geochemical data for Late Triassic garnet-bearing high-Mg# (Mg# = 45–56) adakitic diorite porphyries and garnet-free non-adakitic diorite porphyries with Mg# > 62 from central Tibet. Consistent compositional correlation between Ca-rich garnet crystals, their host rocks and zircon autocrysts suggests that the garnet crystals grew in their host magmas. Amphibole, garnet, zircon and the host rocks display increasing Dy/Yb ratios with increasing magma differentiation. Pristine magmas in equilibrium with amphibole that crystallized prior to garnet are not adakitic. The garnet-bearing high-Mg# adakitic rocks were probably generated by the fractionation of pyroxene, amphibole and garnet at ∼1 GPa from a primitive andesitic parent that was geochemically similar to the garnet-free diorite porphyries. The primitive andesitic magmas with enriched isotope compositions ([87Sr/86Sr]i > 0·709, ɛNd[t] < −3·4) may be derived from shallow melting of subduction-enriched lithospheric mantle in a post-collisional, extensional setting resulting from oceanic slab breakoff. The most likely scenario for garnet crystallization is that mantle-derived hydrous (H2O >5 wt %) magmas stalled, cooled isobarically and differentiated at the base of the crust. This study provides direct mineralogical evidence for the generation of high-Mg# adakitic rocks by crystal fractionation involving garnet, rather than by interaction between crust-derived melt and the mantle, although the latter is potentially a frequent occurrence in the mantle wedge.