Sanctity of Human Life in the Context of Human Genetic Research

The study on the concept of sanctity of human life is a journey in finding out what is it said to be “human” in human life. It is an evaluation of the universal concept and the role it plays in controlling and moulding human conduct and relationships. This concept is a foundational principle of human rights law and the grundnorm of every legal system. However, of late, the challenges by way of certain advances in human genetic research had prompted the need to evaluate the significance and extent of the concept in human endeavours. Scientific advances by way of human genetic research promises significant diagnostic and therapeutic advances but at the same time pose threat to fundamental notions and assumptions on humanity, hence there is a global concern to derive common legal standards, Thus the major challenge is to analyse universal principles which can be a common criteria for evolving legal standards to control certain advances in human genetic research. Hence the relevance of the study. The study aims at analysing the content, scope, extent and limitation of the concept of sanctity of human life. In this attempt it evaluates the extent to which the concept had been accommodated by legal systems and international human rights regimes. The problem which had been undertaken in the study is the extent of intrusion made to the concept by virtue of certain advances in human genetic research.

The effect on the performance of listed family and non-family firms

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine whether the ownership of public firms is related to accounting and market performance, comparing family and non-family listed firms. Design/methodology/approach: We use regression analysis, considering a sample of Portuguese family and non-family firms for the period between 1999 and 2010. Findings: Overall, the results show that family firms are older, are more indebted and have higher debt costs than non-family firms. However, they present lower levels of risk. The evidence suggests that family firms outperform non-family firms when we consider a market performance measure. The market performance of family-controlled firms is more sensitive to the crisis periods and age, compared to their counterparts. The empirical findings suggest that under economic adversity, the performance is especially compromised by the firms’ age. Research limitations/implications: A limitation of this study is the small size of the sample, which derives from the small size of the Portuguese stock market, the Euronext Lisbon. Originality/value: This paper offers some insights on the ownership of public firms and firm performance by investigating a small European economy. The study also contributes to the stream of firm performance, considering new independent variables as determinants of firm performance, such as operational risk. Finally, the study examines the interaction between ownership and performance under both steady and adverse economic conditions, giving the opportunity to analyze whether firm performance differs according to market conditions.

Improving the Accuracy of 3-D Reconstruction in Robotic Vision Applications

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2016-08

Is "football for all" safe for all? : Cross-Sectional Study of Disparities as Determinants of 1-Year Injury Prevalence in Youth Football Programs

Football (soccer) is endorsed as a health-promoting physical activity worldwide. When football programs are introduced as part of general health promotion programs, equal access and limitation of pre-participation disparities with regard to injury risk are important. The aim of this study was to explore if disparity with regard to parents' educational level, player body mass index (BMI), and self-reported health are determinants of football injury in community-based football programs, separately or in interaction with age or gender. Methodology/Principal Findings Four community football clubs with 1230 youth players agreed to participate in the cross-sectional study during the 2006 season. The study constructs (parents' educational level, player BMI, and self-reported health) were operationalized into questionnaire items. The 1-year prevalence of football injury was defined as the primary outcome measure. Data were collected via a postal survey and analyzed using a series of hierarchical statistical computations investigating associations with the primary outcome measure and interactions between the study variables. The survey was returned by 827 (67.2%) youth players. The 1-year injury prevalence increased with age. For youths with parents with higher formal education, boys reported more injuries and girls reported fewer injuries than expected; for youths with lower educated parents there was a tendency towards the opposite pattern. Youths reporting injuries had higher standardized BMI compared with youths not reporting injuries. Children not reporting full health were slightly overrepresented among those reporting injuries and underrepresented for those reporting no injury. Conclusion Pre-participation disparities in terms of parents' educational level, through interaction with gender, BMI, and self-reported general health are associated with increased injury risk in community-based youth football. When introduced as a general health promotion, football associations should adjust community-based youth programs to accommodate children and adolescents with increased pre-participation injury risk.

Skapandet av ett webbaserat ärendehanteringssystem för affärssystemet Pyramid med Scrum : Creation of a web based case management system for the business system Pyramid with Scrum

The business system known as Pyramid does today not provide its user with a reasonable system regarding case management for support issues. The current system in place requires the customer to contact its provider via telephone to register new cases. In addition to this, current system doesn’t include any way for the user to view any of their current cases without contacting the provider.A solution to this issue is to migrate the current case management system from a telephone contact to a web based platform, where customers could easier access their current cases, but also directly through the website create new cases. This new system would reduce the time required to manually manage each individual case, for both customer and provider, resulting in an overall reduction in cost for both parties.The result is a system divided into two different sections, the first one is an API created in Pyramid that acts as a web service, and the second one a website which customers can connect to. The website will allow users to overview their current cases, but also the option to create new cases directly through the site. All the information used to the website is obtained through the web service inside Pyramid. Analyzing the final design of the system, the developers where able to conclude both positive and negative aspects of the systems’ final design. If the platform chosen was the optimal choice or not, and also what can be include if the system is further developed, will be discussed.The development process and the method used during development will also be analyzed and discussed, what positive and negative aspects that where encountered. In addition to this the cause and effect of a development team smaller than the suggested size will also be analyzed. Lastly an analysis of actions that could’ve been made in order to prevent certain issues from occurring will.

A entrada antecipada de crianças com menos d e 6 anos no ensino fundamental: Implicações para a constituição da infância

A alteração na definição da idade de ingresso no ensino fundamental de 7 para 6 anos pela Lei nº 11.114 de 2006 no Brasil tem suscitado debates nos campos da educação e do sistema de justiça sobre a data limite de ingresso. Este artigo tem como objetivo apresentar o cenário da implantação do corte etário para o ingresso no ensino fundamental, bem como problematizar a entrada precoce da criança nesta etapa da educação básica, buscando analisar as implicaçõesdo ingresso das crianças pequenas no ensino fundamental na limitação do seu direito educacional e para a constituição da infância. O acesso a cada uma das etapas da educação básica pressupõe uma faixa etária adequada e seu ingresso deve ocorrer tendo com referência a idade estabelecida e não laudos psicológicos e/ou pedagógicos que atestem a capacidade de cada criança, o que revela certa concepção de criança, infância e processos educativos.

Disruption of amylase genes by RNA interference affects reproduction in the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas

Feeding strategies and digestive capacities can have important implications for variation in energetic pathways associated with ecological and economically important traits, such as growth or reproduction in bivalve species. Here, we investigated the role of amylase in the digestive processes of Crassostrea gigas, using in vivo RNA interference. This approach also allowed us to investigate the relationship between energy intake by feeding and gametogenesis in oysters. Double-stranded (ds)RNA designed to target the two α-amylase genes A and B was injected in vivo into the visceral mass of oysters at two doses. These treatments caused significant reductions in mean mRNA levels of the amylase genes: −50.7% and −59% mRNA A, and −71.9% and −70.6% mRNA B in 15 and 75 µg dsRNA-injected oysters, respectively, relative to controls. Interestingly, reproductive knock-down phenotypes were observed for both sexes at 48 days post-injection, with a significant reduction of the gonad area (−22.5% relative to controls) and germ cell under-proliferation revealed by histology. In response to the higher dose of dsRNA, we also observed reductions in amylase activity (−53%) and absorption efficiency (−5%). Based on these data, dynamic energy budget modeling showed that the limitation of energy intake by feeding that was induced by injection of amylase dsRNA was insufficient to affect gonadic development at the level observed in the present study. This finding suggests that other driving mechanisms, such as endogenous hormonal modulation, might significantly change energy allocation to reproduction, and increase the maintenance rate in oysters in response to dsRNA injection.

Capital social e ações conjuntas: um estudo de caso no arranjo produtivo local de vinhos de altitude catarinense

The general goal of this study was to analyze the relations between the agents’ social capital and joint actions developed by the Cluster of wine produced at the high altitudes of Santa Catarina. This group is made up of 43 agents: one governing agent, 26 support agents and 16 winemakers. This descriptive and exploratory study uses data from qualitative and quantitative approaches. During the exploratory phase, a documental analysis was carried out, as well as semi-structured interviews. The data collection tool used to gather information concerning the social capital and joint actions was the semi-structured questionnaire, and this data gathering was conducted through field research using a structured interview with the selected agents from November 16 to November 26, 2015. The results of this study show a good social capital, which reflects on the joint actions done by the agents. Among the variables of social capital, trust shows a great level among the Cluster agents, followed by good levels concerning commitment and involvement, information share, rules and sanctions, horizontality and authority and improvement. As a result, it has created a nice level of involvement and effectiveness of joint actions, highlighting events organization, joint participation at fairs and events, marketing campaigns, development of products and processes, and human resources improvement. There is a small group of agents who show a strong social capital and a proper environment to expand this capital throughout the network. However, the evaluation concerning reciprocity and density represents only one third of the possibilities of this group, and it happens especially because of the geographical distance between the agents who are part of the Cluster. The main limitation of this study was the trouble trying to map the whole agent group before applying the questionnaires and identifying the responsible people in each of the support agents to inform everything correctly. It is suggested that these questionnaires be carried out with other Clusters as well as in the future in order to have a temporal assessment of this study.

Neural representations of social and non-social uncertainty in human decision making

The social landscape is filled with an intricate web of species-specific desired objects and course of actions. Humans are highly social animals and, as they navigate this landscape, they need to produce adapted decision-making behaviour. Traditionally social and non-social neural mechanisms affecting choice have been investigated using different approaches. Recently, in an effort to unite these findings, two main theories have been proposed to explain how the brain might encode social and non-social motivational decision-making: the extended common currency and the social valuation specific schema (Ruff & Fehr 2014). One way to test these theories is to directly compare neural activity related to social and non-social decision outcomes within the same experimental setting. Here we address this issue by focusing on the neural substrates of social and non-social forms of uncertainty. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) we directly compared the neural representations of reward and risk prediction and errors (RePE and RiPE) in social and non- social situations using gambling games. We used a trust betting game to vary uncertainty along a social dimension (trustworthiness), and a card game (Preuschoff et al. 2006) to vary uncertainty along a non-social dimension (pure risk). The trust game was designed to maintain the same structure of the card game. In a first study, we exposed a divide between subcortical and cortical regions when comparing the way these regions process social and non-social forms of uncertainty during outcome anticipation. Activity in subcortical regions reflected social and non-social RePE, while activity in cortical regions correlated with social RePE and non-social RiPE. The second study focused on outcome delivery and integrated the concept of RiPE in non-social settings with that of fairness and monetary utility maximisation in social settings. In particular these results corroborate recent models of anterior insula function (Singer et al. 2009; Seth 2013), and expose a possible neural mechanism that weights fairness and uncertainty but not monetary utility. The third study focused on functionally defined regions of the early visual cortex (V1) showing how activity in these areas, traditionally considered only visual, might reflect motivational prediction errors in addition to known perceptual prediction mechanisms (den Ouden et al 2012). On the whole, while our results do not support unilaterally one or the other theory modeling the underlying neural dynamics of social and non-social forms of decision making, they provide a working framework where both general mechanisms might coexist.

mHealth in Urology: A Review of Experts' Involvement in App Development

Smartphones are increasingly playing a role in healthcare and previous studies assessing medical applications (apps) have raised concerns about lack of expert involvement and low content accuracy. However, there are no such studies in Urology. We reviewed Urology apps with the aim of assessing the level of participation of healthcare professionals (HCP) and scientific Urology associations in their development.

PROTECTING TRADE SECRETS IN LITIGATION - THE IMPACT OF ARTICLE 9 OF THE EU TRADE SECRET DIRECTIVE ESPECIALLY ON FINNISH LAW

In November 2013 the European Commission issued the “Proposal for a Directive on the European Parliament and of the Council on the protection of undisclosed know-how and business information (trade secrets) against their unlawful acquisition, use and disclosure” (referred to as “TSD”). The TSD offers minimum harmonisation and aims at promoting sharing of knowledge, and the exploitation of innovations on the Internal Market. The European Parliament adopted the TSD on April 14, 2016 and the EU Member States will have two years to implement it. The TSD includes a harmonised definition of a trade secret that builds on the definition provided in Article 39 of the TRIPS Agreement. Moreover, it also ensures the freedom of expression and information and the protection of whistle-blowers. Appropriate means of actions and remedies against unlawful acquisition, use and disclosure of trade secrets are also included, such as provisional and pecuniary measures, injunctions and corrective measures or allocation of damages. This study examines the protection of trade secrets in the course of litigation regulated in Article 9 of the TSD. Currently, the protection of trade secrets within the EU is fragmented especially in this regard, which makes companies reluctant to resort to litigation when a trade secret has unlawfully been misappropriated or it is suspected that a trade secret is being misused. The regulations in Article 9 expand only to the hearing in court. Such protection is welcomed and a step in the right direction. However, in my study I have found that in order for the protection to be sufficient there is a need to further establish measures to protect trade secrets during the entire process, from the filing of the claim to the end when the judgement is given. Consequently, I also discuss different measures that could be used to strengthen the protection of trade secrets before the hearing in court, as evidence are gathered.

More Than Just a Case of Polymyalgia Rheumatica

Malignant neoplasms are associated with a wide range of paraneoplastic rheumatological syndromes. These can be defined as remote effects of cancer, which are not caused by the tumor and its metastasis. The authors describe the case of an 82-year-old man, who presented with a one-month history of pain, stiffness, and functional limitation of the scapular and pelvic girdles. Blood tests showed raised levels of inflammatory markers. He was diagnosed with Polymyalgia Rheumatica, but the lack of response to corticosteroids led to the suspicion of an alternative diagnosis, like, for example, an occult neoplasm. Although patient evaluation was initially normal, five months later he developed macroscopic haematuria and was diagnosed with bladder and prostate carcinomas. After surgical treatment, the patient fully recovered from his rheumatological syndrome.

Protecting Trade Secrets In Litigation The Impact of Article 9 of The EU Trade Secret Directive Especially on Finnish Law

In November 2013 the European Commission issued the “Proposal for a Directive on the European Parliament and of the Council on the protection of undisclosed know-how and business information (trade secrets) against their unlawful acquisition, use and disclosure” (referred to as “TSD”). The TSD offers minimum harmonisation and aims at promoting sharing of knowledge, and the exploitation of innovations on the Internal Market. The European Parliament adopted the TSD on April 14, 2016 and the EU Member States will have two years to implement it. The TSD includes a harmonised definition of a trade secret that builds on the definition provided in Article 39 of the TRIPS Agreement. Moreover, it also ensures the freedom of expression and information and the protection of whistle-blowers. Appropriate means of actions and remedies against unlawful acquisition, use and disclosure of trade secrets are also included, such as provisional and pecuniary measures, injunctions and corrective measures or allocation of damages. This study examines the protection of trade secrets in the course of litigation regulated in Article 9 of the TSD. Currently, the protection of trade secrets within the EU is fragmented especially in this regard, which makes companies reluctant to resort to litigation when a trade secret has unlawfully been misappropriated or it is suspected that a trade secret is being misused. The regulations in Article 9 expand only to the hearing in court. Such protection is welcomed and a step in the right direction. However, in my study I have found that in order for the protection to be sufficient there is a need to further establish measures to protect trade secrets during the entire process, from the filing of the claim to the end when the judgement is given. Consequently, I also discuss different measures that could be used to strengthen the protection of trade secrets before the hearing in court, as evidence are gathered.

Candidacidal potential of licorice phenolic extract: emphasis on its mode of action

Medicinal plants bave gained a special attention in the last years, due to its renowned health benefits, such as antimicrobial effects [I]. In fact, several natural matrices bave been increasingly studied, namely for its antifungal activity against opportunistic fungi [2,3]. Candida species, although commensa! microorganisms, have caused severe organic dysfunctions to the host, once current antifungal agents have lost their recognized efficiency [2]. So, numerous studies have been carried out focusing the mechanisms of acquired drug-resistance by Candida species [of an efficient multi-drug therapy (i.e. chemical drugs and also natural extracts combination), the discovery of the involved mechanisms of actions, morphological changes and related kinetic parameters are of major importance. Glycyrrhiza glabra L. (licorice) hydromethanolic extract have evidenced promissory candidacidal effects, and therefore, the involved mechanisms of action need to be clarified. Thus, in the present study these modes of action were assessed, by using flow cytometry.Overall, the licorice extract induced significant and irreversible primary damages on Candida cells, being membrane disruption and consequent unviability one of the main targets. In fact, after membrane destabilization, cells lost their proper homeostasis, their metabolic functions were blocked and, consequently cells lost functionality. The relevance and interest of the achieved results open new insights towards the upcorning use of the present phenolic matrix, being important to evaluate its in viva efficacy. Therefore, further studies are necessary to deepen knowledge on this field, aiming not only to establish therapeutic and prophylactic doses, but also to improve the clinical intervention in Candida infections.

INVESTIGATION OF MAGNESIUM ION CHARGE STORAGE MECHANISM IN MANGANESE DIOXIDE

Magnesium (Mg) battery is considered as a promising candidate for the next generation battery technology that could potentially replace the current lithium (Li)-ion batteries due to the following factors. Magnesium possesses a higher volumetric capacity than commercialized Li-ion battery anode materials. Additionally, the low cost and high abundance of Mg compared to Li makes Mg batteries even more attractive. Moreover, unlike metallic Li anodes which have a tendency to develop a dendritic structure on the surface upon the cycling of the battery, Mg metal is known to be free from such a hazardous phenomenon. Due to these merits of Mg as an anode, the topic of rechargea¬ble Mg batteries has attracted considerable attention among researchers in the last few decades. However, the aforementioned advantages of Mg batteries have not been fully utilized due to the serious kinetic limitation of Mg2+ diffusion process in many hosting compounds which is believed to be due to a strong electrostatic interaction between divalent Mg2+ ions and hosting matrix. This serious kinetic hindrance is directly related to the lack of cathode materials for Mg battery that provide comparable electrochemical performances to that of Li-based system. Manganese oxide (MnO2) is one of the most well studied electrode materials due to its excellent electrochemical properties, including high Li+ ion capacity and relatively high operating voltage (i.e., ~ 4 V vs. Li/Li+ for LiMn2O4 and ~ 3.2 V vs. Mg/Mg2+). However, unlike the good electrochemical properties of MnO2 realized in Li-based systems, rather poor electrochemical performances have been reported in Mg based systems, particularly with low capacity and poor cycling performances. While the origin of the observed poor performances is believed to be due to the aforementioned strong ionic interaction between the Mg2+ ions and MnO2 lattice resulting in a limited diffusion of Mg2+ ions in MnO2, very little has been explored regarding the charge storage mechanism of MnO2 with divalent Mg2+ ions. This dissertation investigates the charge storage mechanism of MnO2, focusing on the insertion behaviors of divalent Mg2+ ions and exploring the origins of the limited Mg2+ insertion behavior in MnO2. It is found that the limited Mg2+ capacity in MnO2 can be significantly improved by introducing water molecules in the Mg electrolyte system, where the water molecules effectively mitigated the kinetic hindrance of Mg2+ insertion process. The combination of nanostructured MnO2 electrode and water effect provides a synergic effect demonstrating further enhanced Mg2+ insertion capability. Furthermore, it is demonstrated in this study that pre-cycling MnO2 electrodes in water-containing electrolyte activates MnO2 electrode, after which improved Mg2+ capacity is maintained in dry Mg electrolyte. Based on a series of XPS analysis, a conversion mechanism is proposed where magnesiated MnO2 undergoes a conversion reaction to Mg(OH)2 and MnOx and Mn(OH)y species in the presence of water molecules. This conversion process is believed to be the driving force that generates the improved Mg2+ capacity in MnO2 along with the water molecule’s charge screening effect. Finally, it is discussed that upon a consecutive cycling of MnO2 in the water-containing Mg electrolyte, structural water is generated within the MnO2 lattice, which is thought to be the origin of the observed activation phenomenon. The results provided in this dissertation highlight that the divalency of Mg2+ ions result in very different electrochemical behaviors than those of the well-studied monovalent Li+ ions towards MnO2.