Cultural relativism in the Universal Periodic Review of the Human Rights Council

This Working Paper aims to offer an up-to-date list of cultural relativist players and arguments with respect to human rights, constituted by China, Viet Nam, Myanmar, Iran, Pakistan, Yemen, Syria, Malaysia and Cuba. This working paper argues that Indonesia, Iraq, Colombia and Mexico are not in the same cultural relativist group of states maintained by renowned scholars, notably Cristina Cerna and Dianne Otto. As such, apart from this form of cultural relativism based on the respect for the self-determination of indigenous peoples and communities, this working paper exposes two different categories of radical cultural relativism based on revolutionary discourse and/or radical Islamism, as well as targets the credibility on the latter two based on the information facilitated by the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council (HRC) Universal Periodic Review (UPR).

A logistic regression approach to estimating customer profit loss due to lapses in insurance

This article focuses on business risk management in the insurance industry. A methodology for estimating the profit loss caused by each customer in the portfolio due to policy cancellation is proposed. Using data from a European insurance company, customer behaviour over time is analyzed in order to estimate the probability of policy cancelation and the resulting potential profit loss due to cancellation. Customers may have up to two different lines of business contracts: motor insurance and other diverse insurance (such as, home contents, life or accident insurance). Implications for understanding customer cancellation behaviour as the core of business risk management are outlined.

Application of a roughness-length representation to parameterize energy loss in 3-D numerical simulations of large rivers

Recent technological advances in remote sensing have enabled investigation of the morphodynamics and hydrodynamics of large rivers. However, measuring topography and flow in these very large rivers is time consuming and thus often constrains the spatial resolution and reach-length scales that can be monitored. Similar constraints exist for computational fluid dynamics (CFD) studies of large rivers, requiring maximization of mesh-or grid-cell dimensions and implying a reduction in the representation of bedform-roughness elements that are of the order of a model grid cell or less, even if they are represented in available topographic data. These ``subgrid'' elements must be parameterized, and this paper applies and considers the impact of roughness-length treatments that include the effect of bed roughness due to ``unmeasured'' topography. CFD predictions were found to be sensitive to the roughness-length specification. Model optimization was based on acoustic Doppler current profiler measurements and estimates of the water surface slope for a variety of roughness lengths. This proved difficult as the metrics used to assess optimal model performance diverged due to the effects of large bedforms that are not well parameterized in roughness-length treatments. However, the general spatial flow patterns are effectively predicted by the model. Changes in roughness length were shown to have a major impact upon flow routing at the channel scale. The results also indicate an absence of secondary flow circulation cells in the reached studied, and suggest simpler two-dimensional models may have great utility in the investigation of flow within large rivers. Citation: Sandbach, S. D. et al. (2012), Application of a roughness-length representation to parameterize energy loss in 3-D numerical simulations of large rivers, Water Resour. Res., 48, W12501, doi: 10.1029/2011WR011284.

Homer1a is a core brain molecular correlate of sleep loss.

Sleep is regulated by a homeostatic process that determines its need and by a circadian process that determines its timing. By using sleep deprivation and transcriptome profiling in inbred mouse strains, we show that genetic background affects susceptibility to sleep loss at the transcriptional level in a tissue-dependent manner. In the brain, Homer1a expression best reflects the response to sleep loss. Time-course gene expression analysis suggests that 2,032 brain transcripts are under circadian control. However, only 391 remain rhythmic when mice are sleep-deprived at four time points around the clock, suggesting that most diurnal changes in gene transcription are, in fact, sleep-wake-dependent. By generating a transgenic mouse line, we show that in Homer1-expressing cells specifically, apart from Homer1a, three other activity-induced genes (Ptgs2, Jph3, and Nptx2) are overexpressed after sleep loss. All four genes play a role in recovery from glutamate-induced neuronal hyperactivity. The consistent activation of Homer1a suggests a role for sleep in intracellular calcium homeostasis for protecting and recovering from the neuronal activation imposed by wakefulness.

Perioperative visual loss: a rare complication of general surgery

BACKGROUND: Perioperative visual loss (PVL) refers to the loss of vision following surgery performed at distance from the visual pathways. An ischemic optic neuropathy (ION) is the most frequent clinical presentation of PVL, and can be bilateral. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A retrospective chart review of 11 consecutive patients with PVL examined between 2002 and 2007 was undertaken. RESULTS: An ION was found in all 11 cases: 8 were anterior (AION) and 3 were posterior (PION). Visual loss was bilateral in 9 patients. Mean visual acuity (VA) was 0.2 on the Snellen chart (0.74 LogMAR). Most frequently an arcuate/altitudinal visual field defect was present. PVL followed orthopedic (6), spinal (1), cardiac (2) and vascular (2) procedures. The average delay between surgery and visual loss was 32 hours (range: 0-96 hours). Average lowest perioperative hemoglobin level was 75 g/L. Average follow-up time was 14.7 months. VA improved by at least 2 Snellen lines in 5/20 eyes (25 %). CONCLUSIONS: PVL is a rare but dreadful complication of surgery, and is usually associated with severe anemia. Like other causes of ION, there is no specific therapy. Prompt correction of the anemia might decrease the rate of this complication

A soil emergence trap for collections of phlebotomine sand flies

The identification of breeding sites of sand flies is of great epidemiological interest. A soil emergence trap for investigating potential sand fly breeding sites is described. The trap was tested in two rural areas in the Mogi Guaçu River Valley where the American cutaneous leishmaniasis is an endemic disease. Seventy-three sand fly individuals of three species, Lutzomyia intermedia s. l., L. whitmani and L. pessoai, were collected on the forest floor and peridomicile.

Oxygen-sensing reporter strain of Pseudomonas fluorescens for monitoring the distribution of low-oxygen habitats in soil.

The root-colonizing bacterium Pseudomonas fluorescens CHA0 was used to construct an oxygen-responsive biosensor. An anaerobically inducible promoter of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which depends on the FNR (fumarate and nitrate reductase regulation)-like transcriptional regulator ANR (anaerobic regulation of arginine deiminase and nitrate reductase pathways), was fused to the structural lacZ gene of Escherichia coli. By inserting the reporter fusion into the chromosomal attTn7 site of P. fluorescens CHA0 by using a mini-Tn7 transposon, the reporter strain, CHA900, was obtained. Grown in glutamate-yeast extract medium in an oxystat at defined oxygen levels, the biosensor CHA900 responded to a decrease in oxygen concentration from 210 x 10(2) Pa to 2 x 10(2) Pa of O(2) by a nearly 100-fold increase in beta-galactosidase activity. Half-maximal induction of the reporter occurred at about 5 x 10(2) Pa. This dose response closely resembles that found for E. coli promoters which are activated by the FNR protein. In a carbon-free buffer or in bulk soil, the biosensor CHA900 still responded to a decrease in oxygen concentration, although here induction was about 10 times lower and the low oxygen response was gradually lost within 3 days. Introduced into a barley-soil microcosm, the biosensor could report decreasing oxygen concentrations in the rhizosphere for a 6-day period. When the water content in the microcosm was raised from 60% to 85% of field capacity, expression of the reporter gene was elevated about twofold above a basal level after 2 days of incubation, suggesting that a water content of 85% caused mild anoxia. Increased compaction of the soil was shown to have a faster and more dramatic effect on the expression of the oxygen reporter than soil water content alone, indicating that factors other than the water-filled pore space influenced the oxygen status of the soil. These experiments illustrate the utility of the biosensor for detecting low oxygen concentrations in the rhizosphere and other soil habitats.

Environmental pollution with soil-transmitted helminths in Sanliurfa, Turkey

Soil transmitted helminth (STH) infection are endemic in developing countries. A study was carried out of sewage farms, streams and vegetables to determine the sources and routes of STH infection in Sanliurfa, Turkey. Stool samples from farmhouse inhabitants as well as soil and vegetable samples from the gardens were collected and examined. In addition, water samples from streams and vegetable samples from the city market were collected and examined. One hundred and eighty-seven (59.5%) of a total of 314 samples, including 88.4% of the stool samples, 60.8% of the water samples, 84.4% of the soil samples and 14% of the vegetable samples, were found to be positive for STH eggs. These results indicate that the water, soil and vegetables are heavily contaminated, and suggest a vicious circle between humans and the environment. Improving environmental sanitation is imperative for the control of soil-transmitted helminthiasis in Sanliurfa.

Prevalence and intensity of soil-transmitted helminthiasis in the city of Portoviejo (Ecuador)

We studied the stool samples of 151 school children in a district of the city of Portoviejo (Ecuador) in order to determine the prevalence and intensity of soil-transmitted helminthiasis (STH) and their relationships with anthropometric indices. The samples were analyzed with the semiquantitative Kato-Katz technique and the intensity of infections was categorized as light, moderate or high according to the thresholds set by the World Health Organization. Prevalence of soil transmitted helmintiasis was 65% (92 out of 141 collected samples), Ascaris lumbricoides was the most common STH (63%) followed by Trichuris trichiura (10%) and hookworm (1.4%). Heavy intensity infections were found in 8.5% of the stool samples, with T. trichiura showing higher worm burdens than A. lumbricoides. Sixteen percent of the children were below the third percentile for weight (wasted), while 27% were below the third percentile for height (stunted). A significant relationship was found between the worm burden and the degree of stunting. This study suggests that the periodic administration of an antihelminthic drug should be targeted to preschool and school children to allow a normal growth spurt and prevent stunting.

Interplay between wheat cultivars, biocontrol pseudomonads, and soil.

There is a significant potential to improve the plant-beneficial effects of root-colonizing pseudomonads by breeding wheat genotypes with a greater capacity to sustain interactions with these bacteria. However, the interaction between pseudomonads and crop plants at the cultivar level, as well as the conditions which favor the accumulation of beneficial microorganisms in the wheat rhizosphere, is largely unknown. Therefore, we characterized the three Swiss winter wheat (Triticum aestivum) cultivars Arina, Zinal, and Cimetta for their ability to accumulate naturally occurring plant-beneficial pseudomonads in the rhizosphere. Cultivar performance was measured also by the ability to select for specific genotypes of 2,4-diacetylphloroglucinol (DAPG) producers in two different soils. Cultivar-specific differences were found; however, these were strongly influenced by the soil type. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analysis of fragments of the DAPG biosynthetic gene phlD amplified from natural Pseudomonas rhizosphere populations revealed that phlD diversity substantially varied between the two soils and that there was a cultivar-specific accumulation of certain phlD genotypes in one soil but not in the other. Furthermore, the three cultivars were tested for their ability to benefit from Pseudomonas inoculants. Interestingly, Arina, which was best protected against Pythium ultimum infection by inoculation with Pseudomonas fluorescens biocontrol strain CHA0, was the cultivar which profited the least from the bacterial inoculant in terms of plant growth promotion in the absence of the pathogen. Knowledge gained of the interactions between wheat cultivars, beneficial pseudomonads, and soil types allows us to optimize cultivar-soil combinations for the promotion of growth through beneficial pseudomonads. Additionally, this information can be implemented by breeders into a new and unique breeding strategy for low-input and organic conditions.

On the analysis of travelling waves to a nonlinear flux limited reaction-diffusion equation

In this paper we study the existence and qualitative properties of travelling waves associated to a nonlinear flux limited partial differential equation coupled to a Fisher-Kolmogorov-Petrovskii-Piskunov type reaction term. We prove the existence and uniqueness of finite speed moving fronts of C2 classical regularity, but also the existence of discontinuous entropy travelling wave solutions.