The Darfur Name Game: Use of Realpolitik by the United Nations in Decision-making and Intervention

Violence has plagued the westernmost region of Sudan, known as Darfur, since 2003. The conflict contains elements of political and ethnic divisiveness, desertification, and resource scarcity. The violence there continues to date. Many have declared genocide in Darfur while others maintain that the conflict is instead a crime against humanity. The labeling of the conflict is critical because this process determines the interventions available. This paper focuses on the decision-making process of the United Nations and its Security Council to determine if the labeling of the conflict impacted the discourse and intervention decisions by those bodies. Discourse analysis results indicate that the labeling did impact intervention decisions and that realpolitik played a large role in the discourse and decision-making of the UN Security Council in relation to Darfur. Most importantly, labeling the events in Darfur as crimes against humanity and war crimes permitted the UN and its Security Council to circumvent the intervention mandate in the Genocide Convention. Finally, the paper suggests that the variable realpolitik be added to the integrated theory of state crime model to bridge the gap between the criminological and international relations theories in order to better describe and explain state reaction to the state criminality of other states

Genetic susceptibility to allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis in asthma: a genetic association study

Background: In patients with asthma, the fungus Aspergillus fumigatus can cause allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA). Familial ABPA is reported, and some genetic factors have been associated with the disease, however, these are small studies (n ≤ 38) and do not explain all cases of ABPA.Methods: We analysed SNPs in 95 ABPA patients, comparing frequencies to 152 atopic asthmatic and 279 healthy controls. Twenty two genes were selected from literature, and 195 tagging SNPs were analysed for genetic association with ABPA using logistic regression corrected for multiple testing. We also analysed monocyte-derived macrophage gene expression before and during co-culture with A. fumigatus.Results: Seventeen ABPA-associated SNPs (ABPA v Atopic asthma) were identified. Three remained significant after correction for multiple testing; IL13 rs20541, IL4R rs3024656, TLR3 rs1879026. We also identified minor differences in macrophage gene expression responses in the ABPA group compared to the control groups.Conclusions: Multiple SNPs are now associated with ABPA. Some are novel associations. These associations implicate cytokine pathways and receptors in the aberrant response to A. fumigatus and susceptibility to ABPA, providing insights into the pathogenesis of ABPA and/or its complications. We hope these results will lead to increased understanding and improved treatment and diagnostics for ABPA

An Evidence-Based Approach to Employability Curricula and Transferable Skill Development: A Mixed Methods Study

Within Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), there is cross cultural evidence of gaps in transferrable skills between new graduates’ capabilities and employers’ expectations. These gaps hinder graduates’ ability to obtain employment. Herein we report the impact of an evidence-based approach to closing skills gaps in senior STEM students based on their self-perceived employability. A capstone-style, for-credit elective module was developed for STEM students based on the skills gaps found in prior research. The impact of this intervention was measured utilising a mixed-method design. Students’ self-perceived employability pre- and post- module completion were measured, along with post-module reflections collected via a series of open-ended questions. Overall, the module had a positive impact on student self-perceived employability, with the greatest impact in the areas of ‘awareness of opportunity’, ‘perceptions of future success’, and ‘confidence in skills’. A post hoc analysis indicated significant increases in post-module completion ‘confidence in skills’ for women, an important insight given the gender-based issues in career progress and retention in STEM. The qualitative analysis suggested that students highly valued the opportunity to develop job application and transferable skills. The results are discussed in the light of the importance of evidence-based, curriculum-embedded interventions in guiding students to employment

Influence of batch-specific biochemical egg characteristics on embryogenesis and hatching success in farmed pikeperch

Low and variable egg quality remains a major issue in aquaculture impeding a reliable and continuous supply of larvae, particularly in emerging species, such as pikeperch, Sander lucioperca. We assessed the influence of batch-specific egg parameters (fatty acid (FA) profiles, cortisol content) on embryo life-stages until hatching (survival at 2, 24, 48, 72 h post fertilization (hpf), hatching rate) in an integrated study under commercial hatchery conditions (44 egg batches). Embryo mortality was elevated until 48 hpf (average 9.8% mortality between 2 and 48 hpf). Embryos surviving until 48 hpf were very likely (98.5%) to hatch successfully. The inherent egg FA composition was variable in-between batches. Total FA content ranged form 66.1 to 171.7 µg/mg (dry matter) total FA. Whereas specific FA ,18 : 0 and 20 : 5(n-3) (eicosapentaenoic acid) of the polar fraction and the ratio of 22 : 6(n-3) (docosahexaenoic acid) to 20 : 5(n-3) within the neutral fraction, were significantly correlated with early embryo development, contents of the respective FA did not differ between high (>90% hatching rate), mid (70% to 90% hatching rate) and low (<70% hatching rate) quality egg batches. Late embryo development and hatching were relatively independent of the FA profiles highlighting stage-dependent influences especially during early embryogenesis. Cortisol levels ranged from 22.7 to 293.2 ng/ml and did not directly explain for mortalities. However, high cortisol was associated with a lower content of specific FA, in particular highly unsaturated FA. These results demonstrate the magnitude of inter-individual differences in the batch-specific biochemical egg composition under stable hatchery conditions and suggest a stress-mediated lack of essential FA, which in turn affects early embryo survival. Surprisingly, embryos are able to cope well with a broad range of inherent egg parameters, which limits their predictive potential for egg quality in general. Still, specific FA profiles of high quality egg batches have potential for formulating species-specific broodstock diets and improving reproductive management in pikeperch.Peer Reviewe

Transforming laboratory learning through work integrated learning

Monash Chemistry is redeveloping its laboratory learning by bringing work integrated learning into the undergraduate laboratory activities. With the help of industry partners Monash Chemistry will introduce workplace authentic activities to all classes to engage students in science and ensure work ready graduates

De novo mutations in histone modifying genes in congenital heart disease

Congenital heart disease (CHD) is the most frequent birth defect, affecting 0.8% of live births1. Many cases occur sporadically and impair reproductive fitness, suggesting a role for de novo mutations. By analysis of exome sequencing of parent-offspring trios, we compared the incidence of de novo mutations in 362 severe CHD cases and 264 controls. CHD cases showed a significant excess of protein-altering de novo mutations in genes expressed in the developing heart, with an odds ratio of 7.5 for damaging mutations. Similar odds ratios were seen across major classes of severe CHD. We found a marked excess of de novo mutations in genes involved in production, removal or reading of H3K4 methylation (H3K4me), or ubiquitination of H2BK120, which is required for H3K4 methylation2–4. There were also two de novo mutations in SMAD2; SMAD2 signaling in the embryonic left-right organizer induces demethylation of H3K27me5. H3K4me and H3K27me mark `poised' promoters and enhancers that regulate expression of key developmental genes6. These findings implicate de novo point mutations in several hundred genes that collectively contribute to ~10% of severe CHD

Long-acting injectable Cabotegravir + Rilpivirine for HIV maintenance therapy: Week 48 pooled analysis of phase 3 ATLAS and FLAIR trials

BACKGROUND: Long-acting (LA) injectable regimens are a potential therapeutic option in people living with HIV-1. SETTING: ATLAS (NCT02951052) and FLAIR (NCT02938520) were 2 randomized, open-label, multicenter, multinational phase 3 studies. METHODS: Adult participants with virologic suppression (plasma HIV-1 RNA &lt;50 copies/mL) were randomized (1:1) to continue with their current antiretroviral regimen (CAR) or switch to the long-acting (LA) regimen of cabotegravir (CAB) and rilpivirine (RPV). In the LA arm, participants initially received oral CAB + RPV once-daily for 4 weeks to assess individual safety and tolerability, before starting monthly injectable therapy. The primary endpoint of this combined analysis was antiviral efficacy at week 48 (FDA Snapshot algorithm: noninferiority margin of 4% for HIV-1 RNA ≥50 copies/mL). Safety, tolerability, and confirmed virologic failure (2 consecutive plasma HIV-1 RNA ≥200 copies/mL) were secondary endpoints. RESULTS: The pooled intention-to-treat exposed population included 591 participants in each arm [28% women (sex at birth), 19% aged ≥50 years]. Noninferiority criteria at week 48 were met for the primary (HIV-1 RNA ≥50 copies/mL) and key secondary (HIV-1 RNA &lt;50 copies/mL) efficacy endpoints. Seven individuals in each arm (1.2%) developed confirmed virologic failure; 6/7 (LA) and 3/7 (CAR) had resistance-associated mutations. Most LA recipients (83%) experienced injection site reactions, which decreased in incidence over time. Injection site reactions led to the withdrawal of 6 (1%) participants. The serious adverse event rate was 4% in each arm. CONCLUSION: This combined analysis demonstrates monthly injections of CAB + RPV LA were noninferior to daily oral CAR for maintaining HIV-1 suppression

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Development and validation of HERWIG 7 tunes from CMS underlying-event measurements

This paper presents new sets of parameters (“tunes”) for the underlying-event model of the HERWIG7 event generator. These parameters control the description of multiple-parton interactions (MPI) and colour reconnection in HERWIG7, and are obtained from a fit to minimum-bias data collected by the CMS experiment at s=0.9, 7, and 13Te. The tunes are based on the NNPDF 3.1 next-to-next-to-leading-order parton distribution function (PDF) set for the parton shower, and either a leading-order or next-to-next-to-leading-order PDF set for the simulation of MPI and the beam remnants. Predictions utilizing the tunes are produced for event shape observables in electron-positron collisions, and for minimum-bias, inclusive jet, top quark pair, and Z and W boson events in proton-proton collisions, and are compared with data. Each of the new tunes describes the data at a reasonable level, and the tunes using a leading-order PDF for the simulation of MPI provide the best description of the dat

Search for top squark pair production using dilepton final states in pp collision data collected at root s=13TeV

A search is presented for supersymmetric partners of the top quark (top squarks) in final states with two oppositely charged leptons (electrons or muons), jets identified as originating from bquarks, and missing transverse momentum. The search uses data from proton-proton collisions at root s = 13 TeV collected with the CMS detector, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 137 fb(-1). Hypothetical signal events are efficiently separated from the dominant top quark pair production background with requirements on the significance of the missing transverse momentum and on transverse mass variables. No significant deviation is observed from the expected background. Exclusion limits are set in the context of simplified supersymmetric models with pair-produced lightest top squarks. For top squarks decaying exclusively to a top quark and a lightest neutralino, lower limits are placed at 95% confidence level on the masses of the top squark and the neutralino up to 925 and 450 GeV, respectively. If the decay proceeds via an intermediate chargino, the corresponding lower limits on the mass of the lightest top squark are set up to 850 GeV for neutralino masses below 420 GeV. For top squarks undergoing a cascade decay through charginos and sleptons, the mass limits reach up to 1.4 TeV and 900 GeV respectively for the top squark and the lightest neutralino.Peer reviewe