Dix ans après l’adoption du Statut de Rome de 1998. Quelques remarques sur les imperfections du fonctionnement de la Cour pénale internationale

Les événements qui se sont déroulés au cours du mois de juillet 2008, à la Haye, marquent le dixième anniversaire de l'adoption du Statut de Rome et la sixième année de l'opérationnalité de la Cour pénale internationale. Ils sont une lueur d'espoir quant à l'efficacité de la Cour. Cependant, les imperfections de ses activités restent présentes. La Cour devra beaucoup faire pour devenir une véritable juridiction pénale internationale, fiable et efficace

La libertad de movimiento de los refugiados afganos en Irán

Aunque legalmente justificables, las crecientes restricciones de movimiento y de trabajo para los refugiados en Irán juegan en su contra

Differences in perceived technological problem-solving ability of university technology and humanities students

Technology is one of the most dominant factors impinging on our lives. Of critical importance is that some citizens have specific knowledge of how to solve selected problems and make intelligent and informed decisions about technology. The purpose of this study was to determine if university students\u27 perspectives of their technological problem-solving skills improve as they progress through their degree programs. The study was designed to look at selected student criteria to determine the results;A Perceived Technological Problem Solving Ability Instrument (PTPSAI) was developed to address the following research questions: (1) Is there a significant difference in the perceptions of technological problem-solving ability between technologically-oriented and nontechnologically-oriented university students? (2) Is there a significant difference in technological problem-solving ability between freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors measured by mean scores on the PTPSAI? (3) Is there a significant difference in technological problem-solving ability between students with different work experiences measured by mean PTPSAI scores? (4) Is there a significant difference in mean PTPSAI scores for different amounts of prior work experience? (5) Is there a significant difference in mean PTPSAI scores for different levels of GPA?;The PTPSAI was constructed by initially developing 49 questions as face valid indicators extracted from a pool of questions posed to a panel of experts. The items were randomly arranged and given to a group of 23 students as a pilot study. Following a factor analysis on the responses, 36 items were retained. Ten demographic questions were added to address participants\u27 individual characteristics. The survey was then distributed to humanities and technology students at three universities, with a total of 430 usable instruments collected. Statistical analyses performed include factor analysis, reliability, t-tests of means, and one-way analysis of variance;Results showed a moderately high reliability of 0.81 of the PTPSAI items. Findings revealed a significant difference in the PTPSAI scores of humanities and technology students. There was a significant difference in PTPSAI scores among students with different years of work experience and for different levels of GPA. Students with higher GPAs were better problem solvers;The applicability and implementation of technological problem solving in the university setting needs to be investigated further. Future studies were recommended to include other disciplines to see if students in those areas might require a different level of insight for technological problem solving. More detailed studies should be conducted to explore the differences in perceptions of students in various disciplines. Additional research is also needed to identify the most effective method of teaching the concept of technological problem solving for educational settings. Exploratory and qualitative research methods are recommended since technological problem solving is still new in education

Effective planning of-end-of-life scenarios for offshore windfarm

Many offshore wind turbines (OWTs) are approaching the end of their estimated operational life soon. It is challenging to develop a general decommissioning procedure for all OW farms. Therefore, this research aims to comprehend the available end-of-life (EoL) scenario for OWTs to decide on their application procedures and propose an innovative systematic framework for considering the EoL scenario. The first part of the research critically reviewed the various end-of-life strategies for offshore wind farms, available technological options and the influencing factors that can inform such decisions. The study proposed a multi-attribute framework for supporting optimum choices in terms of main constraints, such as the possibility of end-of-life strategies based on unique characteristics and influencing factors. In the selection of techno-economic, the primary procedure parameters influencing the three major end-life strategies, i.e. life extension, repowering, and decommissioning, are discussed, and the benefits and issues related to the influencing variables are also identified. In the next part, an initial comparative assessment between two of these scenarios, repowering and decommissioning, through a purpose-developed techno-economic analysis model calculates relevant key performance indicators. With numerous OW farms approaching the end of service life, the discussion on planning the most appropriate EoL scenario has become popular. Planning and scheduling those main activities of EoL scenarios depends on forecasting leading environmental indicators such as significant wave height. This research proposes a novel probabilistic methodology based on multivariate and univariate time series forecasting of machine learning (ML) models, including LSTM, BiLSTM, and GRU. In the end, the role of optimum selection of end-of-life scenarios is investigated to achieve the highest profitability of offshore wind farms. Various end-of-life scenarios have been evaluated through a TOPSIS technique as a multi-criteria decision-making procedure to determine an appropriate way according to environmental, financial, safety Criteria, Schedule impact, and Legislation and guidelines. Keywords: Offshore Wind Turbine; Decommissioning; End-of-life scenarios; Decision making; Levelized Cost of Energy; Machine learning, ForecastingMany offshore wind turbines (OWTs) are approaching the end of their estimated operational life soon. It is challenging to develop a general decommissioning procedure for all OW farms. Therefore, this research aims to comprehend the available end-of-life (EoL) scenario for OWTs to decide on their application procedures and propose an innovative systematic framework for considering the EoL scenario. The first part of the research critically reviewed the various end-of-life strategies for offshore wind farms, available technological options and the influencing factors that can inform such decisions. The study proposed a multi-attribute framework for supporting optimum choices in terms of main constraints, such as the possibility of end-of-life strategies based on unique characteristics and influencing factors. In the selection of techno-economic, the primary procedure parameters influencing the three major end-life strategies, i.e. life extension, repowering, and decommissioning, are discussed, and the benefits and issues related to the influencing variables are also identified. In the next part, an initial comparative assessment between two of these scenarios, repowering and decommissioning, through a purpose-developed techno-economic analysis model calculates relevant key performance indicators. With numerous OW farms approaching the end of service life, the discussion on planning the most appropriate EoL scenario has become popular. Planning and scheduling those main activities of EoL scenarios depends on forecasting leading environmental indicators such as significant wave height. This research proposes a novel probabilistic methodology based on multivariate and univariate time series forecasting of machine learning (ML) models, including LSTM, BiLSTM, and GRU. In the end, the role of optimum selection of end-of-life scenarios is investigated to achieve the highest profitability of offshore wind farms. Various end-of-life scenarios have been evaluated through a TOPSIS technique as a multi-criteria decision-making procedure to determine an appropriate way according to environmental, financial, safety Criteria, Schedule impact, and Legislation and guidelines. Keywords: Offshore Wind Turbine; Decommissioning; End-of-life scenarios; Decision making; Levelized Cost of Energy; Machine learning, Forecastin

L’Iran, pays d’accueil

En tant que pays de destination, l’Iran a près de quarante ans d’expérience dans la gestion de la migration, à la fois dans des situations d’urgence et sur la durée. Vu l’importance de la question migratoire au niveau mondial, ainsi que la place particulière de l’Iran vis-à-vis de la migration, le pays a besoin de développer ses capacités de gestion via des politiques et des législations renforcées à cet égard. La réconciliation entre la sécurité nationale et la protection humanitaire devrait davantage être prise en compte par les autorités iraniennes

Mechanism of Reversion of Calcium-Induced Differentiation in Keratinocytes

Terminal differentiation defines cells that permanently exit the cell cycle in the process of specialization. Under some circumstances, however, this process is reversed as demonstrated by the ability of differentiated keratinocytes to form hair bearing skin epithelia when transplanted onto a suitable environment. To gain insights into the mechanism of reversion of keratinocyte differentiation, a well characterized culture of mouse keratinocytes, in which calcium (Ca2+) concentrations above 0.1 mM induce differentiation was used. A low Ca2+ switch in differentiated cultures triggered culture-wide morphological and biochemical changes indicated by re-initiation of proliferation, de-repression of cyclin D1, and acquisition of basal cell-like characteristics. Retroviral labeling of differentiated cultures ruled against the possibility of expansion of a small population of Ca2+-resistant keratinocytes following the low Ca2+ switch. The use of selective inhibitors of signaling pathways, suggested a requirement for protein kinase D (PKD) and mitogen activated protein kinases (MAPK). Inhibition of keratinocyte reversion by Goedecke 6979, an inhibitor of PKD and protein kinase C (PKC)-Α, but not with GF10923X, a general inhibitor of PKCs, suggested PKC-independent PKD activation. PKD phosphorylation/ activation followed complex kinetics with a biphasic transient phosphorylation within the first 6 hrs followed by a sustained and progressive phosphorylation beginning at 24 hrs after the low Ca2+ switch. Despite expression of all three PKD isoforms in keratinocytes, specific knockdown of PKD1 by RNA interference or over-expression of dominant negative form of PKD1 blocked re-initiation of proliferation and morphological reversion in differentiated cultures, indicating an essential and non-redundant role for PKD1 in this process. Furthermore, analysis of ERK1/2 activity in reverted cultures indicated a biphasic pattern of ERK1/2 phosphorylation consistent with that of PKD. Suppression of ERK1/2 phosphorylation in keratinocytes over-expressing a dominant negative form of PKD directly correlated with the inhibition of DNA synthesis and supported a role for PKD-mediated ERK activation. These data demonstrate an essential and non-redundant role for PKD1 in reversion of differentiation in keratinocytes, partly through sustained activation of the ERK-MAPK pathway. These findings imply a critical role for PKD in conditions such as wound healing and tumor formation where the normal differentiation process may be reversed

Pathobiology of HIV-related metabolic and cardiovascular comorbidities: Towards a unifying mechanism

No abstract available

Effect of Pd on the Electrocatalytic Activity of Pt towards Oxidation of Ethanol in Alkaline Solutions

The understanding of electrocatalytic activity and poisoning resistance properties of Pt and Pd nanoparticles, recognized as the best electrocatalysts for the ethanol oxidation reaction, is an essential step for the commercialization of direct ethanol fuel cells (DEFCs). In this paper, mono and bimetallic Pt and Pd nanoparticles with different atomic ratios have been synthesized to study their electrocatalytic properties for an ethanol oxidation reaction in alkaline solutions. The different nanoparticles were physiochemically characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The electrochemical characterization was performed by cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry measurements. The electrochemical measurements indicate that Pt nanoparticles have much higher electrocatalytic activity for ethanol oxidation than Pd nanoparticles. The studies with bimetallic PtPd nanoparticles showed a significant impact of their composition on the ethanol oxidation. Thus, the highest electrocatalytic activity and poisoning resistance properties were obtained for Pt3Pd2 nanoparticles. Moreover, this study demonstrates that the poisoning of the catalyst surface through ethanol oxidation is related to the prevalence of the acetaldehyde–acetate route and the polymerization of acetaldehyde through aldol condensation in the alkaline media.This research was funded by Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (Spain) grant number PID2019-105653GB-100), Generalitat Valenciana (Spain) grant number PROMETEO/2020/063, and the University of Zanjan Research Council

C-REACTIVE PROTEIN AND LACTATE DEHYDROGENASE IN SERUM AND CEREBROSPINAL FLUID IN RAPID AND EARLY DIAGNOSIS OF CHILDHOOD MENINGITIS

ObjectiveBacterial meningitis is still a life threatening epidemiological problem especially in many developing countries; considering its dire consequences, its prompt and accurate diagnosis has become a priority for clinicians. Because of the various limitations of conventionally used laboratory techniques, we evaluated and compared the diagnostic utility of C-reactive protein(CRP) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH)in serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)in the diagnosis of bacterial meningitis and its effectivity in distinguishing it from aseptic meningitis (AP).Material and MethodsA total of 125 pediatric cases, aged between 1 month and 12 years, including patients with bacterial meningitis (n=45), aseptic meningitis (n=42) and a control group (n=38), were retrospectively analyzed on the basis of data from the initial clinical examinations. Cultures, smears and other common serum and CSF indices were compared with serum and CSF CRP levels and LDH activity.ResultsCompared with each of the other variables, there were significant differences in the mean values of serum-CRP, CSF-glucose, CSF-LDH and CSF/serum LDH ratio between the bacterial and aseptic meningitis groups (