A revision of the white-toothed shrews (Crocidura) of Southern China

Many systematic relationships among Chinese white-toothed shrews of genus Crocidura are presently unresolved. In this paper, a taxonomic revision of Crocidura from Southern China is presented. We studied 338 specimens from Burma, China, Korea, Pakistan, Turkey, Middle and Central Asia, and Russia (Appendix I), 285 of which had complete skulls that were analyzed with principal component and discriminant analyses. Results indicated that 6 species of Crocidura can be recognized in South China. C. fuliginosa occurs in Southwestern and Eastern China, C. attenuata is broadly distributed throughout Southern China, and C. horsfieldii is restricted to the southern part of China. C vorax and C. rapax, usually placed as synonyms of the European C russula, are recognized as 2 valid species whose ranges overlap in Southwestern China. C. shantungensis of Eastern Asia extends to the northern part of Southern China and is distinct from C. suaveolens and C. gmelini of Middle and Central Asia, respectively.

Validation of Vision Tracking at Egnatia Odos Motorway

Tracking applications provide real time on-site information that can be used to detect travel path conflicts, calculate crew productivity and eliminate unnecessary processes at the site. This paper presents the validation of a novel vision based tracking methodology at the Egnatia Odos Motorway in Thessaloniki, Greece. Egnatia Odos is a motorway that connects Turkey with Italy through Greece. Its multiple open construction sites serves as an ideal multi-site test bed for validating construction site tracking methods. The vision based tracking methodology uses video cameras and computer algorithms to calculate the 3D position of project related entities (e.g. personnel, materials and equipment) in construction sites. The approach provides an unobtrusive, inexpensive way of effectively identifying and tracking the 3D location of entities. The process followed in this study starts by acquiring video data from multiple synchronous cameras at several large scale project sites of Egnatia Odos, such as tunnels, interchanges and bridges under construction. Subsequent steps include the evaluation of the collected data and finally, performing the 3D tracking operations on selected entities (heavy equipment and personnel). The accuracy and precision of the method's results is evaluated by comparing it with the actual 3D position of the object, thus assessing the 3D tracking method's effectiveness.

Determinations of residual furazolidone and its metabolite, 3-amino-2-oxazolidinone (AOZ), in fish feeds by HPLC-UV and LC-MS/MS, respectively

The antibacterial drug furazolidone belonging to the group of nitrofuran antibacterial agents has been widely used as an antibacterial and antiprotozoal feed additive for poultry, cattle, and farmed fish in China. During application a large proportion of the administered drug may reach the environment directly or via feces. Although the use of furazolidone is prohibited in numerous countries, there are indications of its illegal use. It is known that furazolidone can be rapidly metabolized to 3-amino-2-oxazolidinone (AOZ) in the body of the target organism. In this study, a total of 21 fish feed samples, including 17 commercial fish feeds from local markets in China (representing 15 different formulations) and 4 fish feeds obtained from Germany and Turkey, respectively, are analyzed to determine whether the drug is still illegally used or commercially available feeds are contaminated by this drug. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS) methods have been implemented to determine furazolidone and its metabolite AOZ in fish feeds containing animal protein, respectively. An efficient and convenient cleanup method for the determination of furazolidone in fish feeds is developed, and a simple cleanup method for the determination of AOZ is used. Method recoveries for samples used were determined as 87.7-98.3% for furazolidone at two spike levels of 2.0 and 5.0 ng g(-1) and as 95.6-102.8% for AOZ at spike levels of 0.4 and 0.8 ng g(-1). Limits of detections were 0.4 ng g(-1) for furazolidone and 0.05 ng g(-1) for AOZ. The established methods are therefore suitable for the determination of furazolidone and its metabolite AOZ in fish feeds at trace contamination levels. Using the established methods, all fish feed samples have been proved to be furazolidone negative; however, AOZ is tested in 16 of 17 fish feeds obtained from local markets in the Hubei province of China, with a positive rate as high as 94.1%.

Integrated lectin affinity microfluidic chip for glycoform separation

Lectin affinity chromatography was miniaturized into a microfluidic format, which results in improvement of performance, as compared to the conventional method. A lectin affinity monolith column was prepared in the microchannel of a microfluidic chip. The porous monolith was fabricated by UV-initiated polymerization of ethylene dimethacrylate (EDMA) and glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) in the presence of porogeneities, followed by immobilization of pisum sativum agglutinin (PSA) on the monolith matrix. Using electroosmosis as the driven force, lectin affinity chromatographies of three kinds of glycoprotein, turkey ovalbumin (TO), chicken ovalbumin (CO), and ovomucoid (OM), were carried out on the microfluidic system. All the glycoproteins were successfully separated into several fractions with different affinities toward the immobilized PSA. The integrated system reduces the time required for the lectin affinity chromatography reaction to similar to3%, thus, the overall analysis time from 4 h to 400 s. Only 300 pg of glycoprotein is required for the whole separation process. Moreover, troublesome operations for lectin affinity chromatography are simplified.

Novel information sharing syntax for data sharing between police and community partners, using role-based security.

The exchange of information between the police and community partners forms a central aspect of effective community service provision. In the context of policing, a robust and timely communications mechanism is required between police agencies and community partner domains, including: Primary healthcare (such as a Family Physician or a General Practitioner); Secondary healthcare (such as hospitals); Social Services; Education; and Fire and Rescue services. Investigations into high-profile cases such as the Victoria Climbié murder in 2000, the murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in 2002, and, more recently, the death of baby Peter Connelly through child abuse in 2007, highlight the requirement for a robust information-sharing framework. This paper presents a novel syntax that supports information-sharing requests, within strict data-sharing policy definitions. Such requests may form the basis for any information-sharing agreement that can exist between the police and their community partners. It defines a role-based architecture, with partner domains, with a syntax for the effective and efficient information sharing, using SPoC (Single Point-of-Contact) agents to control in-formation exchange. The application of policy definitions using rules within these SPoCs is inspired by network firewall rules and thus define information exchange permissions. These rules can be imple-mented by software filtering agents that act as information gateways between partner domains. Roles are exposed from each domain to give the rights to exchange information as defined within the policy definition. This work involves collaboration with the Scottish Police, as part of the Scottish Institute for Policing Research (SIPR), and aims to improve the safety of individuals by reducing risks to the community using enhanced information-sharing mechanisms.

Sentencing War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity under the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia

null RAE2008

Double Jeopardy Without Parameters: Re-characterization in International Criminal Law

Olusanya, O. (2004). Double Jeopardy Without Parameters: Re-characterization in International Criminal Law. Series Supranational Criminal Law: Capita Selecta, volume 2. Antwerp: Intersentia. RAE2008

The Paston Women: Selected Letters

Watt, D. (Ed.). (2004). The Paston Women: Selected Letters. Library of Medieval Women. Rochester: D. S. Brewer. RAE2008

Prawa człowieka w kontekstach kulturowych

The power of human rights idea and its expansion are connected with the experience of so far unprecedented pain and cruelty caused by man to man during the Second World War. Doctrine of legal positivism strenghtened totalitarian systems. One of the essential goals that were set by totalitarian systems was ethnic cleansing within both one’s and subjugated communities. To achieve this goal, concentration camps were established. This Second World War’s events gave raise to a question: does the common morality of the whole mankind exist? The Nuremberg Trials based on conviction that this common morality of the whole mankind exists. In this lawsuits Nazis were on trials for mass murder and crimes against humanity despite the fact that this crimes did not exist as a criminal offences in international law of that time. Lawyers of Nazis argued that their clients should not have been on trials for crimes against humanity because the rule “lex retro non agit” (“the law does not operate retroactively”) should have been in force. International Military Tribunal dismissed this argument – it was stated they tried Nazis are responsible for acts resulting from breach of the natural law. Therefore, the primacy of natural law over civil law (was approved and they admitted that morality and law are essential components of international reality. Since The Nuremberg Trials, the process of making international relations more ethical proceeded consistently through positivisationi.e. introducing human rights ideas to civil law (this issue is included in the Part I of the book: Positivisation of human rights idea). In this way, contemporary human rights as civil law arose, established on the basis of international agreement. Using them in order to legitimize and validate humanitarian interventions undertaken in various parts of the world became the common standard. However, positivisation of human rights idea did not mean that one common paradigm was accepted. Many interpretation of human rights arose and many new human rights formed in concrete cultures. It gives raise to a question about validity of interventions especially in the context of cultural differences in various parts of the world that influence perception, understanding and interpretation of human rights (this issues are discussed in Part II of this book). At present human rights are not only relativized to cultural contexts but undergo semantic changes as a result of globalisation process as well (Part II of the book: Human rights idea vs globalisation). Moreover, the propositions of establishing institutions and global structures that would strengthen human rights idea appear, interalia new propositions of citizenship defining (ujmowanie jako definiowanie)in response to a decreasing role and significance of nation states in the age of globalization. The idea of human rights dominated present-day law, culture and daily life both in local and global dimension. Human rights issue became essential for philosophy, especially political philosophy.