Broad Defense Research Articles

Reflections about the preclusion of the right to prove in Brazilian criminal procedure

The article deals with the preclusion on the parties' evidentiary activity in criminal proceedings, in order to answer the following research problem: how can preclusion affect the parties' evidentiary activity in criminal proceedings? As a hypothesis, it was established that the principle of the presumption of innocence and the right to a broad defense can rule out the rules of preclusion applicable to the evidentiary activity carried out by the accused in criminal proceedings. The research was carried out in three stages, based on the constitutional and infra-constitutional rules applicable to the parties' evidentiary activity in criminal proceedings. Firstly, the study dealt with the preclusion in relation to the right to evidence. Secondly, it described the possible hypotheses of preclusion related to the parties' evidentiary activity in criminal proceedings. Finally, it sought to verify the possibility of preclusion occurring in criminal proceedings and in relation to the probative activity of the accused. Adopting the guidelines of the hypothetical-deductive method and explanatory approach, and based on the theoretical knowledge already published about the subject, the research led to the conclusion that the principle of the presumption of innocence and the right to a broad defense point to the inapplicability of preclusion in relation to the evidential activity carried out by the accused in criminal proceedings.

P16High immune cell - controlled disease tolerance as a broad defense and healthspan extending strategy.

The ability of an organism to overcome infectious diseases has traditionally been linked to killing invading pathogens. Accumulating evidence, however, indicates that, apart from restricting pathogen loads, organismal survival is coupled to an additional yet poorly understood mechanism called disease tolerance. Here we report that p16High immune cells play a key role in establishing disease tolerance. We found that the FDA-approved BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine is a potent and rapid inducer of p16High immune subsets both in mice and humans. In turn, p16High immune cells were indispensable for counteracting different lethal conditions, including LPS-induced sepsis, acute SARS-CoV-2 infection and ionizing irradiation. Mechanistically, we propose that activation of TLR7 or a low physiological activity of STING is sufficient to induce p16High immune subset that, in turn, establishes a low adenosine environment and disease tolerance. Furthermore, containing these signals within a beneficial range by deleting MDA5 that appeared sufficient to maintain a low activity of STING, induces p16High immune cells and delays organ deterioration upon aging with improved healthspan. Our data highlight the beneficial role of p16High immune subsets in establishing a low adenosine environment and disease tolerance.

Indonesia's Defense Policy In Addressing Space Threats In Perspective Of Defense Management

Indonesia's Defense Policy In Addressing Space Threats In Perspective Of Defense Management

Morphological and functional characterization of the oyster Crassostrea gasar circulating hemocytes: Cell types and phagocytosis activity

Hemocytes are the circulating cells of the hemolymph of oysters and are responsible for numerous physiological functions, including immune defense. The oyster Crassostrea gasar is a native species inhabiting mangrove habitat and is of great commercial interest, cultured throughout the Brazilian coast, mainly in the north and northeast. Despite its commercial importance, little is known about its immunological aspects and defense cells, the hemocytes. This work aimed to morphologically characterize hemocytes of the oyster C. gasar and to study one of the main cellular defense response, phagocytosis, using light microscopy and flow cytometry. The results showed the presence of six hemocyte populations in C. gasar hemolymph. These comprise of large and small granulocytes, large and small hyalinocytes, blast-like cells and a rare type classified as vesicular or serous hemocytes. Hyalinocytes were highly abundant and the most heterogeneous cell population, while small granulocytes, along with vesicular hemocytes were the less abundant population. Hemocytes of C. gasar oysters demonstrated capabilities to phagocytose three different types of particles tested: zymosan A, latex particles and Escherichia coli, indicating a broad defense capacity. The zymosan A were the most engulfed particles, followed by beads, mainly phagocytized by granulocytes, the most phagocytic cells, and finally E. coli, which were the least phagocytized. This study is the first characterization of C. gasar oyster hemocytes and will support future studies that aim to understand the participation of different hemocyte types in defense responses against pathogens and/or environmental changes.

CONSTITUCIONALISMO DO PROCESSO: PRINCÍPIOS FUNDAMENTAIS ESTRUTURANTES DA PRESTAÇÃO JURISDICIONAL

We seek to examine the legal order that resides in the constitutional norms that form the process. Therefore, we use the bibliographical research through the deductive and comparative method. Therefore, we use the bibliographical research through the deductive and comparative method based on the doctrine of Sérgio Henriques Zandona Freitas. Fundamental rights are prevalent social values of constitutional supremacy that cannot be abolished by legislative deliberation. In the Democratic State of Law the constitutional process establishes the limiting guidelines to be adopted by the State-judge to interpret and declare the right of the litigants recipients of the judicial provision of settlement of the dispute, in accordance with the jurisprudence of the Supreme Court tending to the implementation of the phenomenon of constitutionalization of law. Based on the primacy of the dignity of the human person, the principles, among others, of due process, of contradictory, of broad defense and of isonomy, all guiding the process, administrative or judicial, forming a coherent whole, are included in this context.

The development of robotics and autonomous systems in Australia: key issues, actors, and discourses

ABSTRACT Robotics and autonomous systems (RAS) are amongst a plethora of new and emerging technologies states are seeking to develop and use to gain military advantage in an environment of intensifying strategic competition. Australia is a key player when it comes to autonomous systems, with trusted autonomous systems (TAS) being earmarked as a priority area. RAS have taken an increasingly prevalent place in Australian research, discourse, military thinking, and defence industry. How Australia thinks about these technologies reveals important insights into their broader defence and strategic outlook, including their understanding of how the character of warfare is changing, and their approach to alliances and partnerships. In this article, I will trace how TAS became a priority area for defence in Australia, and provide a stocktake of the key developments in RAS which have taken place since 2016. This will include key actors, funding, discourses, and technologies. Taking stock of RAS in Australia reveals several key themes which stand out: the centrality of the concept of control, trust, ethics, interoperability, keeping ahead of adversaries, reducing danger to defence personnel, and developing systems which are cheap, small, and single-use.

Safeguarding the National Airspace of Indonesia under the Framework of International Air Law

Introduction to the Problem: The vast territory of Indonesia requires careful thought in realizing an effective defense system to maintain its territorial integrity and the safety of the nation. To ensure the effectiveness of the country's broad defense system requires great strength, high mobility, and early detection capability. The development of Indonesia's defense force should not merely be oriented towards the land territory, but it must also be optimized towards the country’s sea and air forces. Purpose/Objective Study: This study examines the airspace protection system implemented by Indonesia to protect the security of the country from threats. Methodology: The research design is exploratory as this paper aspires to explore the basis of air defense identification zone. Findings: The Indonesian Government has taken legal measures by regulating restricted airspace, air defense identification zones, as well as identifying types of violations committed by foreign aircraft.  Both national and international laws allow Indonesia to establish air defense identification zones. Paper Type: General Review

A broad defense against SARS-like viruses

Coronavirus Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the third coronavirus that has emerged as a serious human pathogen in the past 20 years. Treatment strategies that are broadly protective against current and future SARS-like coronaviruses are needed. Martinez et al. took on this challenge by developing vaccines based on chimeras of the viral spike protein. The messenger RNA vaccines encode spike proteins composed of domain modules from epidemic and pandemic coronaviruses, as well as bat coronaviruses with the potential to cross to humans. In aged mice vulnerable to infection, the chimeric vaccines protected against challenge from SARS-CoV, SARS-CoV-2 and tested variants of concern, and zoonotic coronaviruses with pandemic potential. Science , abi4506, this issue p. [991][1] [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.abi4506

Chimeric spike mRNA vaccines protect against Sarbecovirus challenge in mice.

The emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) in 2003 and SARS-CoV-2 in 2019 highlights the need to develop universal vaccination strategies against the broader Sarbecovirus subgenus. Using chimeric spike designs, we demonstrate protection against challenge from SARS-CoV, SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV-2 B.1.351, bat CoV (Bt-CoV) RsSHC014, and a heterologous Bt-CoV WIV-1 in vulnerable aged mice. Chimeric spike messenger RNAs (mRNAs) induced high levels of broadly protective neutralizing antibodies against high-risk Sarbecoviruses. By contrast, SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccination not only showed a marked reduction in neutralizing titers against heterologous Sarbecoviruses, but SARS-CoV and WIV-1 challenge in mice resulted in breakthrough infections. Chimeric spike mRNA vaccines efficiently neutralized D614G, mink cluster five, and the UK B.1.1.7 and South African B.1.351 variants of concern. Thus, multiplexed-chimeric spikes can prevent SARS-like zoonotic coronavirus infections with pandemic potential.

INVESTIGAÇÃO DEFENSIVA

O presente artigo objetiva demonstrar a oportunidade da adoção de um sistema de investigação defensiva no Brasil, com vistas a garantir ampliação do acesso do direito à defesa por parte dos acusados no processo penal. Identifica a presença preponderante do princípio inquisitivo no processo penal brasileiro, tornando o inquérito policial um instrumento de produção de provas de acusação. Analisa características da Polícia Judiciária como órgão incumbido da realização da investigação e as formas de produção da prova na fase do inquérito policial. Conclui pela inexistência de obstáculos jurídicos à implementação da investigação defensiva, para aperfeiçoamento de direitos fundamentais que se efetivam no processo: contraditório, ampla defesa e paridade de armas.

Tomato Cultivars Resistant or Susceptible to Spider Mites Differ in Their Biosynthesis and Metabolic Profile of the Monoterpenoid Pathway.

The two-spotted spider mite (TSSM; Tetranychus urticae) is a ubiquitous polyphagous arthropod pest that has a major economic impact on the tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) industry. Tomato plants have evolved broad defense mechanisms regulated by the expression of defense genes, phytohormones, and secondary metabolites present constitutively and/or induced upon infestation. Although tomato defense mechanisms have been studied for more than three decades, only a few studies have compared domesticated cultivars' natural mite resistance at the molecular level. The main goal of our research was to reveal the molecular differences between two tomato cultivars with similar physical (trichome morphology and density) and agronomic traits (fruit size, shape, color, cluster architecture), but with contrasting TSSM susceptibility. A net house experiment indicated a mite-resistance difference between the cultivars, and a climate-controlled performance and oviposition bioassay supported these findings. A transcriptome analysis of the two cultivars after 3 days of TSSM infestation, revealed changes in the genes associated with primary and secondary metabolism, including salicylic acid and volatile biosynthesis (volatile benzenoid ester and monoterpenes). The Terpene synthase genes, TPS5, TPS7, and TPS19/20, encoding enzymes that synthesize the monoterpenes linalool, β-myrcene, limonene, and β-phellandrene were highly expressed in the resistant cultivar. The volatile profile of these cultivars upon mite infestation for 1, 3, 5, and 7 days, revealed substantial differences in monoterpenoid and phenylpropanoid volatiles, results consistent with the transcriptomic data. Comparing the metabolic changes that occurred in each cultivar and upon mite-infestation indicated that monoterpenes are the main metabolites that differ between cultivars (constitutive levels), while only minor changes occurred upon TSSM attack. To test the effect of these volatile variations on mites, we subjected both the TSSM and its corresponding predator, Phytoseiulus persimilis, to an olfactory choice bioassay. The predator mites were only significantly attracted to the TSSM pre-infested resistant cultivar and not to the susceptible cultivar, while the TSSM itself showed no preference. Overall, our findings revealed the contribution of constitutive and inducible levels of volatiles on mite performance. This study highlights monoterpenoids' function in plant resistance to pests and may inform the development of new resistant tomato cultivars.

O princípio da ampla defesa no Direito Público brasileiro do Estado Constitucional à luz da LINDB e da lei nº 13.655, de 2018

O Estado Constitucional oportuniza as partes direitos e garantias fundamentais de reserva e participação na construção e no controle das decisões judiciais, representando verdadeiro exercício da democracia. Nesse enfoque, mostra-se de vital importância a motivação e a fundamentação das decisões judiciais. A falta ou deficiência na fundamentação compromete a ampla defesa, bem como outros princípios processuais constitucionais. Em 2018, entrou em vigor a Lei nº 13.655, que introduziu alterações na Lei de Introdução ao Direito Brasileiro (LINDB), com objetivo de conferir maior segurança jurídica, apresentando alguns enfoques que guardam relação com o aperfeiçoamento da fundamentação das decisões judiciais. O presente trabalho tem por objetivo fazer um estudo do princípio constitucional da ampla defesa na esfera do processo civil, fazendo uma análise conjunta das recentes alterações introduzidas na Lei de Introdução ao Direito Brasileiro, sobretudo nos artigos 20 e 21, indagando se as referidas alterações contribuem para a realização desse princípio. Valendo-se dos métodos exploratório e analítico, através de revisão bibliográfica, análise de artigos acadêmicos e das normas, foi realizada uma leitura criteriosa, selecionando os aspectos relevantes para, finalmente, proceder a uma abordagem teórica e analítica do princípio da ampla defesa introduzido na norma base da civil law no Brasil.

A atuação da Defensoria Pública na promoção do direito de acesso à justiça no Brasil

Este artigo tem por objetivo analisar as diversas formas de atuação da Defensoria Pública no Brasil para promover o direito de acesso à justiça. A organização da Defensoria Pública e seus objetivos estão previstos na Constituição Federal de 1988 e na Lei Complementar n° 80, de 1994, tendo, a referida instituição, o compromisso com a promoção dos direitos fundamentais e o acesso à justiça das pessoas hipossuficientes. O método utilizado no trabalho é o dedutivo, tendo por base pesquisa bibliográfica. O estudo aborda o significado do direito de acesso à justiça, analisando sua alteração através do tempo, e, posteriormente, verifica o papel da Defensoria Pública em termos de promoção do acesso à justiça às pessoas em situação de vulnerabilidade econômica e social. A função da Defensoria Pública envolve a assistência jurídica em âmbito judicial e também em âmbito extrajudicial, sobressaindo-se também a missão de informar as pessoas a respeito dos seus direitos, para que posteriormente, possam ser exercidos. O trabalho destaca que oferecendo assistência jurídica a grupos hipossuficentes, como mulheres, idosos, crianças, moradores de rua e pessoas menos favorecidas economicamente a Defensoria Pública promove o acesso à justiça, concorrendo para a efetividade de direitos fundamentais como direito à saúde, educação, moradia, ampla defesa e contraditório, etc.

MiR159 Represses a Constitutive Pathogen Defense Response in Tobacco.

MicroR159 (miR159) regulation of GAMYB expression is highly conserved in terrestrial plants; however, its functional role remains poorly understood. In Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), although GAMYB-like genes are constitutively transcribed during vegetative growth, their effects are suppressed by strong and constitutive silencing by miR159. GAMYB expression occurs only if miR159 function is inhibited, which results in detrimental pleiotropic defects, questioning the purpose of the miR159-GAMYB pathway. Here, miR159 function was inhibited in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) and rice (Oryza sativa) using miRNA MIM159 technology. Similar to observations in Arabidopsis, inhibition of miR159 in tobacco and rice resulted in pleiotropic defects including stunted growth, implying functional conservation of the miR159-GAMYB pathway among angiosperms. In MIM159 tobacco, transcriptome profiling revealed that genes associated with defense and programmed cell death were strongly activated, including a suite of 22 PATHOGENESIS-RELATED PROTEIN (PR) genes that were 100- to 1,000-fold upregulated. Constitutive expression of a miR159-resistant GAMYB transgene in tobacco resulted in phenotypes similar to that of MIM159 tobacco and activated PR gene expression, verifying the dependence of the above-mentioned changes on GAMYB expression. Consistent with the broad defense response, MIM159 tobacco appeared immune to Phytophthora infection. These findings suggest that the tobacco miR159-GAMYB pathway functions in the biotic defense response, which becomes activated upon miR159 inhibition. However, PR gene expression was not upregulated in Arabidopsis or rice when miR159 was inhibited, suggesting that miR159-GAMYB pathway functional differences exist between species, or factors in addition to miR159 inhibition are required in Arabidopsis and rice to activate this broad defense response.

Defence strategies in African savanna trees.

Southern African savannas are commonly polarised into two broad types based on plant functional types and defences; infertile savannas dominated by broad-leaved trees typically defended by nitrogen-free secondary compounds and fertile savannas dominated by fine-leaved trees defended by structural defences. In this study, we use trait and other data from 15 wooded savanna sites in Southern Africa and ask if broad-leaved and fine-leaved species dominate on nutrient-poor and nutrient-rich soils, respectively. We then test if there is there any evidence for trade-offs in chemical (i.e., condensed tannins and total polyphenols) vs. structural defences on different soil types. We did not find strong evidence for a general divide in fine- vs. broad-leaved savannas according to soil fertility, nor for a simple trade-off between chemical and structural defences. Instead, we found savanna species to cluster into three broad defence strategies: species were high in leaf N and either (A) highly defended by spines and chemicals or (B) only structurally defended, or (C) low in leaf N and chemically defended. Finally, we tested for differences in browser utilisation between soil types and among plant defence strategies and found that browsing by meso-herbivores was higher on nutrient-rich soils and targeted species from groups A and B and avoided C, while browsing by elephants was mostly not affected by soil type or defence strategy. We propose a framework that can be used as a basis for asking strategic questions that will help improve our understanding of plant defences in savannas.

Watershed Democracy: Rural Environmentalism and the Battle Against the TVA in Western North Carolina, 1965–1972

Scholars have overlooked the role that rural southerners played in the 1960s environmental movement. The prevailing narratives chronicle the post-1945 activities of American white middle-class Democrats who, wanting to protect their new suburban landscapes, embraced environmentalism. Popular in the North and West, the 1960s environmental movement seemed to have bypassed the South, especially in more rural parts of the region. There, political conservatism, “the persistence of rural attitudes” (according to Samuel Hays), and slow urban growth had supposedly limited the influence of the movement. In western North Carolina, environmentalism struck a chord among men and women who organized to repeatedly oppose the Tennessee Valley Authority’s plans to build dams to control floods long after the New Deal was over. These rural residents—from farmers to birdwatchers—maintained that their livelihoods and rural communities depended on the preservation of the French Broad River and its floodplain. Nor did political and fiscal conservatives shun environmentalism. Republicans, sharing a common enemy and a genuine concern for the environment, aligned with environmentalists and helped found the Upper French Broad Defense Association. Together, green conservatives and liberals joined forces. They marshaled a local battle with little outside assistance to halt the march of high modernism in the rural Sun Belt.

Pattern-Triggered Immunity Alters the Transcriptional Regulation of Virulence-Associated Genes and Induces the Sulfur Starvation Response in Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000

Pattern-triggered immunity (PTI) can confer broad defense against diverse microbes and pathogens with disparate lifestyles through the detection of microbial extracellular signatures by surface-exposed pattern recognition receptors. However, unlike recognition of pathogen effectors by cytosolic resistance proteins, PTI is typically not associated with a host-cell programmed cell death response. Although host PTI signaling has been extensively studied, the mechanisms by which it restricts microbial colonization are poorly understood. We sought to gain insight into the mechanisms of PTI action by using bacterial transcriptomics analysis during exposure to PTI. Here, we describe a method for bacterial cell extraction from inoculated leaves that was used to analyze a time course of genome-wide transcriptional responses in the pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000 during early naïve host infection and exposure to pre-induced PTI in Arabidopsis thaliana. Our analysis revealed early transcriptional regulation of important bacterial metabolic processes and host interaction pathways. We observed peak induction of P. syringae virulence genes at 3 h postinoculation and that exposure to PTI was associated with significant reductions in the expression of virulence genes. We also observed the induction of P. syringae sulfur starvation response genes such as sulfate and sulfonate importers only during exposure to PTI.

Comprehensive Insights into the Multi-Antioxidative Mechanisms of Melanin Nanoparticles and Their Application To Protect Brain from Injury in Ischemic Stroke.

Nanotechnology-mediated antioxidative therapy is emerging as a novel strategy for treating a myriad of important diseases through scavenging excessive reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS), a mechanism critical in disease development and progression. However, similar to antioxidative enzymes, currently studied nanoantioxidants have demonstrated scavenging activity to specific RONS, and sufficient antioxidative effects against multiple RONS generated in diseases remain elusive. Here we propose to develop bioinspired melanin nanoparticles (MeNPs) for more potent and safer antioxidative therapy. While melanin is known to function as a potential radical scavenger, its antioxidative mechanisms are far from clear, and its applications for the treatment of RONS-associated diseases have yet to be well-explored. In this study, we provide for the first time exhaustive characterization of the activities of MeNPs against multiple RONS including O2•-, H2O2, •OH, •NO, and ONOO-, the main toxic RONS generated in diseases. The potential of MeNPs for antioxidative therapy has also been evaluated in vitro and in a rat model of ischemic stroke. In addition to the broad defense against these RONS, MeNPs can also attenuate the RONS-triggered inflammatory responses through suppressing the expression of inflammatory mediators and cytokines. In vivo results further demonstrate that these unique multi-antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, and biocompatible features of MeNPs contribute to their effective protection of ischemic brains with negligible side effects.

The interface between abiotic and biotic stress responses.

The interface between abiotic and biotic stress responses.

IQ and Defense Mechanisms Assessed with the TAT

Abstract. The concept of defense mechanism has a long history in psychoanalysis and clinical psychopathology. The function of defenses has been modified over the years, from a counter-force against instincts to the protection of self-esteem. To understand the role of defenses in pathological and normal development, a coding method to use with Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) stories – the Defense Mechanism Manual ( Cramer, 1991a ) – has been developed and validated. Three broad defenses – Denial, Projection, and Identification – may be coded with this method. The article presents examples of TAT stories that have been coded for defense use. These show how defense use changes after a period of psychotherapy, and how defenses change with age. Evidence for reliability and validity is provided, both from correlational and experimental studies. The remainder of the paper focuses on the relation between the use of defense mechanisms and intelligence. Research has shown that the two ego functions of defense and IQ are not correlated in childhood and adolescence, but are correlated in adulthood defenses and IQ. Importantly, IQ serves as a moderator for the effect of defense use on variables such as psychiatric symptom change, level of Ego Development, and Big Five personality traits.