Rethinking the powers of truth commissions in light of the ICC statute

The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) is silent on the issue of national truth commissions. How the ICC might treat these bodies and the information they may hold is uncertain. The overlapping nature of the investigations likely to be carried out by the ICC and future truth-seeking bodies may, however, give rise to areas of tension, particularly where truth commissions hold confidential or self-incriminating information. This article questions whether the traditional truth-seeking powers to grant confidentiality and compel the provision of self-incriminating statements are compatible with the prosecutorial framework of the ICC. It considers how such information is likely to be dealt with by the ICC and analyses whether effective truth seeking can be carried out in the absence of such powers.

Critical success factors for competitiveness of contractors: A China study

Gaining or maintaining a “contractor's” competitive advantage is not easy as it is determined by a large number of factors. Identification of critical success factors (CSFs) allows one to reduce the vast number of factors to some manageable few but vital ones. Based on the CSFs, contractors' limited resources such as money and manpower can be allocated and aligned appropriately for yielding a maximum outcome of overall competitiveness. This paper describes the CSFs identified from a survey study carried out in Mainland China. The ranking analysis of the survey results shows that 35 factors are rated as critical for determining the competitiveness of a contractor. Factor analysis reveals that the 35 CSFs identified can be grouped into eight clusters, namely, project management skills, organization structure, resources, competitive strategy, relationships, bidding, marketing, and technology. The CSFs in this study provide a vehicle for guiding a contractor in managing its resources in order to improve competitive advantage. The study also provides insights into the management of competitiveness for contractors that are operating in the particular context of the Chinese construction industry.

Moderate fish-oil supplementation reverses low-platelet, long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid status and reduces plasma triacylglycerol concentrations in British Indo-Asians

Background: The mechanisms involved in the increased mortality from coronary artery disease in British Indo-Asians are not well understood. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate whether British Indo-Asian Sikhs have higher plasma triacylglycerol concentrations, lower platelet phospholipid levels, and lower dietary intakes of long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) than do age- and weight-matched Europeans and whether moderate dietary fish-oil intake can reverse these differences. Design: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel, fish-oil intervention study was performed. After a 2-wk run-in period, 44 Europeans and 40 Indo-Asian Sikhs were randomly assigned to receive either 4.0 g fish oil [1.5 g eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and 1.0 g docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)] or 4.0 g olive oil (control) daily for 12 wk. Results: At baseline, the Indo-Asians had significantly higher plasma triacylglycerol, small dense LDL, apolipoprotein B, and dietary and platelet phospholipid n-6 PUFA values and significantly lower long-chain n-3 PUFAs (EPA and DHA) than did the Europeans. A significant decrease in plasma triacylglycerol, plasma apolipoprotein B-48, and platelet phospholipid arachidonic acid concentrations and a significant increase in plasma HDL concentrations and platelet phospholipid EPA and DHA levels were observed after fish-oil supplementation. No significant effect of ethnicity on the responses to fish-oil supplementation was observed. Conclusions: Moderate fish-oil supplementation contributes to a reversal of lipid abnormalities and low n-3 PUFA levels in Indo-Asians and should be considered as an important, yet simple, dietary manipulation to reduce CAD risk in Indo-Asians with an atherogenic lipoprotein phenotype.

Cultured neural networks

This special section contains papers addressing various aspects associated with the issue Of Cultured neural networks. These are networks, that are formed through the monitored growth of biological neural tissue. In keeping with the aims of the International Journal of Adaptive Control and Signal Processing, the key focus of these papers is to took at particular aspects of signal processing in terms of both stimulating such a network and in assigning intent to signals collected as network outputs. Copyright (C) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

DC-SIGN increases the affinity of HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein interaction with CD4

Mannose-binding C-type lectin receptors, expressed on Langerhans cells and subepithelial dendritic cells (DCs) of cervico-vaginal tissues, play an important role in HIV-1 capture and subsequent dissemination to lymph nodes. DC-SIGN has been implicated in both productive infection of DCs and the DC-mediated trans infection of CD4(+) T cells that occurs in the absence of replication. However, the molecular events that underlie this efficient transmission have not been fully defined. In this study, we have examined the effect of the extracellular domains of DC-SIGN and Langerin on the stability of the interaction of the HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein with CD4 and also on replication in permissive cells. Surface plasmon resonance analysis showed that DC-SIGN increases the binding affinity of trimeric gp140 envelope glycoproteins to CD4. In contrast, Langerin had no effect on the stability of the gp140:CD4 complex. In vitro infection experiments to compare DC-SIGN enhancement of CD4-dependent and CD4-independent strains demonstrated significantly lower enhancement of the CD4-independent strain. In addition DC-SIGN increased the relative rate of infection of the CD4-dependent strain but had no effect on the CD4-independent strain. DC-SIGN binding to the HIV envelope protein effectively increases exposure of the CD4 binding site, which in turn contributes to enhancement of infection.

Clothing consumption in two recent EU Member States: a cross-cultural study

Marketing research efforts across Eastern European countries continue growing since the introduction of market reforms in this region. Nonetheless, questions remain unanswered as to cross-cultural differences in Eastern Europeans' consumer behavior. The present research addresses this knowledge gap by developing and testing hypotheses about cross-cultural variations in a number of clothing-related consumer behavior phenomena in the Czech Republic and Bulgaria. Our findings indicate significant differences regarding consumer interest in clothing, preference for utilitarian, self-expressive and hedonic meanings of clothing artifacts, preference for well-known clothing brands, brand loyalty, and importance of clothing attributes. The study advances research in marketing by investigating clothing value-expressive symbolism and consumption in the tworecentEUMember States. The study provides valuable insights to marketers for developing effective marketing strategies.

Operator space structure of JC*-triples and TROs, I

We embark upon a systematic investigation of operator space structure of JC*-triples via a study of the TROs (ternary rings of operators) they generate. Our approach is to introduce and develop a variety of universal objects, including universal TROs, by which means we are able to describe all possible operator space structures of a JC*-triple. Via the concept of reversibility we obtain characterisations of universal TROs over a wide range of examples. We apply our results to obtain explicit descriptions of operator space structures of Cartan factors regardless of dimension

The gut microbiota elicits a profound metabolic reorientation in the mouse jejunal mucosa during conventionalisation

Objective: Proper interactions between the intestinal mucosa, gut microbiota and nutrient flow are required to establish homoeostasis of the host. Since the proximal part of the small intestine is the first region where these interactions occur, and since most of the nutrient absorption occurs in the jejunum, it is important to understand the dynamics of metabolic responses of the mucosa in this intestinal region.Design: Germ-free mice aged 8-10 weeks were conventionalised with faecal microbiota, and responses of the jejunal mucosa to bacterial colonisation were followed over a 30-day time course. Combined transcriptome, histology, (1)H NMR metabonomics and microbiota phylogenetic profiling analyses were used.Results: The jejunal mucosa showed a two-phase response to the colonising microbiota. The acute-phase response, which had already started 1 day after conventionalisation, involved repression of the cell cycle and parts of the basal metabolism. The secondary-phase response, which was consolidated during conventionalisation (days 4-30), was characterised by a metabolic shift from an oxidative energy supply to anabolic metabolism, as inferred from the tissue transcriptome and metabonome changes. Detailed transcriptome analysis identified tissue transcriptional signatures for the dynamic control of the metabolic reorientation in the jejunum. The molecular components identified in the response signatures have known roles in human metabolic disorders, including insulin sensitivity and type 2 diabetes mellitus.Conclusion: This study elucidates the dynamic jejunal response to the microbiota and supports a prominent role for the jejunum in metabolic control, including glucose and energy homoeostasis. The molecular signatures of this process may help to find risk markers in the declining insulin sensitivity seen in human type 2 diabetes mellitus, for instance.

The link between the Barents Sea and ENSO events simulated by NEMO model

An analysis of observational data in the Barents Sea along a meridian at 33°30' E between 70°30' and 72°30' N has reported a negative correlation between El Niño/La Niña Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events and water temperature in the top 200 m: the temperature drops about 0.5 °C during warm ENSO events while during cold ENSO events the top 200 m layer of the Barents Sea is warmer. Results from 1 and 1/4-degree global NEMO models show a similar response for the whole Barents Sea. During the strong warm ENSO event in 1997–1998 an anomalous anticyclonic atmospheric circulation over the Barents Sea enhances heat loses, as well as substantially influencing the Barents Sea inflow from the North Atlantic, via changes in ocean currents. Under normal conditions along the Scandinavian peninsula there is a warm current entering the Barents Sea from the North Atlantic, however after the 1997–1998 event this current is weakened. During 1997–1998 the model annual mean temperature in the Barents Sea is decreased by about 0.8 °C, also resulting in a higher sea ice volume. In contrast during the cold ENSO events in 1999–2000 and 2007–2008, the model shows a lower sea ice volume, and higher annual mean temperatures in the upper layer of the Barents Sea of about 0.7 °C. An analysis of model data shows that the strength of the Atlantic inflow in the Barents Sea is the main cause of heat content variability, and is forced by changing pressure and winds in the North Atlantic. However, surface heat-exchange with the atmosphere provides the means by which the Barents sea heat budget relaxes to normal in the subsequent year after the ENSO events.