Towards a Stronger Conception of Democracy in the Strasbourg Convention

The purpose of this article is to examine the promotion of democracy through human rights law. The focus will be on the possibilities for using the European Convention on Human Rights to promote participatory democracy. The author argues that the jurisprudence of the Strasbourg Court is beginning to recognise some participatory measures such as the requirement of consultation, notably under Article 8 of the Convention.

An algorithm to predict pregnancy in assisted conception

BACKGROUND: Male fertility potential cannot be measured by conventional parameters for assisted reproduction by intracytoplasmic sperm injection. This study determines the relationship between testicular and ejaculated sperm mitochondrial (mt) DNA deletions, nuclear (n) DNA fragmentation and fertilisation and pregnancy rates in ICSI. METHODS: Ejaculated sperm were obtained from 77 men and testicular sperm from 28 men with obstructive azoospermia undergoing ICSI. Testicular sperm were retrieved using a Trucut needle. MtDNA analysed using a long polymerase chain reaction. The alkaline Comet assay determined nDNA fragmentation. RESULTS: Of subjects who achieved a pregnancy (50%) using testicular sperm, only 26% had partners�??�?�¢?? sperm with wild type (WT) mtDNA. Of pregnant subjects (38%) using ejaculated sperm, only 8% had partner sperm with WT mtDNA.. In each, the successful group had less mtDNA deletions and less nDNA fragmentation. There were inverse relationships between pregnancy and mtDNA deletion numbers, size and nDNA fragmentation for both testicular and ejaculated sperm. No relationships were observed with fertilisation rates. An algorithm for the prediction of pregnancy is presented based on the quality of sperm nDNA and mtDNA. CONCLUSION: In both testicular and ejaculated sperm, mtDNA deletions and nDNA fragmentation are closely associated with pregnancy in ICSI.

Effects of vasectomy on spermatogenesis and fertility outcomes after assisted conception

Abstract BACKGROUND: Each year 40,000 men have a vasectomy in the UK whilst another 2400 request a reversal to begin a second family. Sperm can now be obtained by testicular biopsy and subsequently used in assisted conception with intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). The study aims were to compare sperm yields of men post-vasectomy or with obstructive azoospermia (OA) of unknown aetiology with fertile men and to assess any alteration in the clinical pregnancy rates after ICSI. METHODS: Testicular tissue was obtained by Trucut needle from men who had undergone a vasectomy >5yrs previously, had OA from other causes and from fertile men during vasectomy. Seminiferous tubules were milked to measure sperm yields. Numbers of Sertoli cells, spermatids and thickness of the seminiferous tubule walls were assessed using quantitative computerized analysis. RESULTS and CONCLUSIONS: Sperm yields/g testis were significantly decreased in men post-vasectomy and in men with OA, relative to fertile men. Significant reductions were also observed in early (40%) and mature (29%) spermatid numbers and an increase of 31% was seen in the seminiferous tubule wall (basal membrane and collagen thickness) of vasectomised men compared to fertile men. Clinical pregnancy rates in couples who had had a vasectomy were also significantly reduced.

The effects of cryopreservation on testicular sperm nuclear DNA fragmentation and its relationship with assisted conception outcome following intracytoplasmic sperm injection

M.E.M. Thompson-Cree, Neil McClure, Eilish T. Donnelly, Kristine E. Steele and Sheena E.M. Lewis

Quantitative analysis of the reactivity of formate species seen by DRIFTS over a Au/Ce(La)O2 water–gas shift catalyst: First unambiguous evidence of the minority role of formates as reaction intermediates

The reactivity of the species formed at the surface of a Au/Ce(La)O2 catalyst during the water������¢���¯���¿���½���¯���¿���½gas shift (WGS) reaction were investigated by operando diffuse reflectance Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS) at the chemical steady state during isotopic transient kinetic analyses (SSITKA). The exchanges of the reaction product CO2 and of formate and carbonate surface species were followed during an isotopic exchange of the reactant CO using a DRIFTS cell as a single reactor. The DRIFTS cell was a modified commercial cell that yielded identical reaction rates to that measured over a quartz plug-flow reactor. The DRIFTS signal was used to quantify the relative oncentrations of the surface species and CO2. The analysis of the formate exchange curves between 428 and 493 K showed that at least two levels of reactivity were present. ������¢���¯���¿���½���¯���¿���½Slow formates������¢���¯���¿���½���¯���¿���½ displayed an exchange rate constant 10- to 20-fold slower than that of the reaction product CO2. ������¢���¯���¿���½���¯���¿���½Fast formates������¢���¯���¿���½���¯���¿���½ were exchanged on a time scale similar to that of CO2. Multiple nonreactive readsorption of CO2 took place, accounting for the kinetics of the exchange of CO2(g) and making it impossible to determine the number of active sites through the SSITKA technique. The concentration (in mol g������¢���¯���¿���½���¯���¿���½1) of formates on the catalyst was determined through a calibration curve and allowed calculation of the specific rate of formate decomposition. The rate of CO2 formation was more than an order of magnitude higher than the rate of decomposition of formates (slow + fast species), indicating that all of the formates detected by DRIFTS could not be the main reaction intermediates in the production of CO2. This work stresses the importance of full quantitative analyses (measuring both rate constants and adsorbate concentrations) when investigating the role of adsorbates as potential reaction intermediates, and illustrates how even reactive species seen by DRIFTS may be unimportant in the overall reaction scheme.

Verwirklichende Raume - Poetik und Raumkonzeption bei Paul Celan und Martin Buber

This article with the conception of space in Paul Celan's poetics, comparing it to Martin Buber's and developing a notion of 'realisation', important to both Celan and Buber. Partant du concept du fantastique en tant qu'espace dans laquelle les phénomènes sont véritablement perçus au lieu de simplement se dérouler, l'article montre comment la rupture avec la réalité accoutumée peut mener à une sensation intense de l'être. Chez Martin Buber se trouve la description d'un telle espace, où l'unité est créée à partir de la polarité de tout ce qui est. Le poème peut représenter un exemple d'un tel espace « réalisant ». La conception de l'espace chez Buber est démontrée en dialogue avec le poème STEHEN de Paul Celan, afin de montrer comment le monde réifié est « réalisé » par la poésie. Ainsi sont mis en valeur le rapport mutuel et le lien indispensable entre réalités sociales et la réalité du non-espace.

KINETICS OF REDUCTIVE DISSOLUTION OF SODIUM BISMUTHATE BY CE-III AND MN-II IONS

The kinetics of reductive dissolution of NaBiO3, by Mn-II and Ce-III ions are studied as a function of [Mn-II] or [Ce-III], [Bi-III], [H+] and temperature. They fit a simple inverse-cubic rate law and can be readily interpreted using a mechanism in which the rate-determining step is the reaction between an adsorbed reducing species (i.e. a Mn-II or Ce-III ion) and its associated surface site; protonation of the surface site promotes the rate of reaction. The rate of dissolution decreases with increasing initial concentration of Bi-III ions owing to competitive inhibition by the latter species. A kinetic model, based on this mechanism, is applied and provides a quantitative description of the observed kinetics.