Infliction Of Damage Research Articles

Fault in tort law: Moral justification and mathematical explication

The article has two main objectives: (1) to reveal why the fault principle is considered to be morally superior to no-fault liability in primitive law; and (2) to find out the essence of fault in modern tort law and then to express the concept of fault in the most precise manner possible, namely through math formula. It is argued that the very existence of law is contingent on freedom of human’s will. It is the human’s freedom that allows to judge human’s actions. Thus, provided that we consider tort law as a set of rules prohibiting infliction of damage and establishing liability therefor, it is fair to state that fault is a precondition of tort liability specifically because freedom is a precondition of the very law’s operation. Therefore, while establishing fault the court investigates whether the tortfeasor was free at the moment of infliction of damage. Fault denotes that formally wrongful act was committed freely. Since establishing fault is conducted after the wrongful act has been committed (it is conducted within judicial proceedings, which constitute backward-looking research), the inference follows that fault is an ex post conclusion of freedom. However, sometimes all the elements of the free-choice situation being present, the tortfeasor nevertheless cannot be deemed to be at fault. This is the case, where the tortfeasor could have avoided inflicting damage, but at excessively heavy cost. Thus, it is not enough if among the available alternatives there is one harmless; in addition, the harmless option has to be reasonable. Otherwise choosing this harmless option cannot be expected.

Общественная опасность и объект контрабанды алкогольной продукции и табачных изделий

The article reviews the issues related to determination of public danger and the object of alcohol and tobacco smuggling as a crime stipulated by Article 2002 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (CC RF). The author pays attention to the fact that illegal circulation of alcohol and tobacco constitutes a menace to the citizens’ health and normal development of market relations, economic interests of the Russian Federation as a member of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). Public danger of illegal transfer of alcohol and tobacco across the customs border of the EAEU (customs border of the Eurasian Economic Community) is primarily related to infliction of damage to the market economic relations developing in the EAEU area forming a common customs territory. The article states that additional direct objects of the crimes defined in the CC RF as smuggling performed by illegal transfer of smuggling objects across the customs border of the Customs Union within the EAEC (Articles 200¹, 200², 226¹ and 229¹ of the CC RF) are public relations related to the established procedure of good (item) transfer across the customs border of the Customs Union within the EAEC, while the main direct objects of these crimes differ; so they are included in separate chapters of the CC RF. Based on the fact that the main indirect object of alcohol and tobacco smuggling is derived from the generic object of crimes included in Chapter 22 of the CC RF and the results of the performed analysis, the author concludes that on the current stage of EAEU functioning and theoretical comprehension of the influence of appearance of this international organization of regional economic integration on determination of public relations protected by criminal law, it is optimal to acknowledge public relations securing compliance with the market economy and good faith competition principles at carrying out of international economic activities between the EAEU member states and other states (non-EAEU members) as the main direct object of alcohol and tobacco smuggling.

Regeneration dynamics of planted seedling-origin aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.)

Aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) is a foundational tree species of the North American boreal forest. After disturbance, clonal aspen stands quickly achieve canopy closure by sending up numerous clonal shoots (root suckers) from their lateral root system. Controlled aboveground disturbance will commonly induce prolific root suckering and thereby increase stem density in clonal aspen stands, but it is unclear if increases in stem density will be observed in planted seedling-origin aspen stands. The objectives of this study were to determine (1) overall root suckering response of planted aspen to aboveground disturbance; (2) if different cut heights of the stem or infliction of root damage impact the number of root suckers produced. We found that planted aspen regenerated readily after disturbance, averaging five root suckers per cut tree. However, individual response was highly variable, ranging from zero to 29 root suckers per root system. Of the cut trees, 75% produced at least one root sucker and 60% produced at least one stump sprout. Cutting trees close to the soil surface produced more root suckers than leaving a 25 cm stump. While root system size (mass and length) was well correlated with aboveground measures of planted aspen, root suckering was not related to root system size. As a result of increased forest reclamation efforts in the boreal forest region the planting of aspen has become a more common practice, necessitating a better understanding of the regeneration dynamics and root suckering potential of these planted and seedling-origin aspen forests.

Photo-safety assessment for cosmetics based on in vitro tests

Infliction of DNA damage initiates a complex cellular reaction – the DNA damage response – that involves both signaling and DNA repair networks with many redundancies and parallel pathways. Here, we reveal the three strategies that the simple multicellular eukaryote, C. elegans, uses to deal with DNA damage induced by light. Separately inactivating repair or replicative bypass of photo-lesions results in cellular hypersensitivity towards UV-light, but impeding repair of replication associated DNA breaks does not. Yet, we observe an unprecedented synergistic relationship when these pathways are inactivated in combination. C. elegans mutants that lack nucleotide excision repair (NER), translesion synthesis (TLS) and alternative end joining (altEJ) grow undisturbed in the dark, but become sterile when grown in light. Even exposure to very low levels of normal daylight impedes animal growth. We show that NER and TLS operate to suppress the formation of lethal DNA breaks that require polymerase theta-mediated end joining (TMEJ) for their repair. Our data testifies to the enormous genotoxicity of light and to the demand of multiple layers of protection against an environmental threat that is so common.

Combined loss of three DNA damage response pathways renders C. elegans intolerant to light

Infliction of DNA damage initiates a complex cellular reaction – the DNA damage response – that involves both signaling and DNA repair networks with many redundancies and parallel pathways. Here, we reveal the three strategies that the simple multicellular eukaryote, C. elegans, uses to deal with DNA damage induced by light. Separately inactivating repair or replicative bypass of photo-lesions results in cellular hypersensitivity towards UV-light, but impeding repair of replication associated DNA breaks does not. Yet, we observe an unprecedented synergistic relationship when these pathways are inactivated in combination. C. elegans mutants that lack nucleotide excision repair (NER), translesion synthesis (TLS) and alternative end joining (altEJ) grow undisturbed in the dark, but become sterile when grown in light. Even exposure to very low levels of normal daylight impedes animal growth. We show that NER and TLS operate to suppress the formation of lethal DNA breaks that require polymerase theta-mediated end joining (TMEJ) for their repair. Our data testifies to the enormous genotoxicity of light and to the demand of multiple layers of protection against an environmental threat that is so common.

"Who are you doing this for?" Narrating Sexual Violence in Kirsty Eagar's Raw Blue

"Who are you doing this for?" Narrating Sexual Violence in Kirsty Eagar's Raw Blue Robyn Dennison (bio) Rape Rhetoric: Victims and Survivors In her 1975 book Against Our Will, Susan Brownmiller writes, "Women are trained to be rape victims…To talk about rape, even with nervous laughter, is to acknowledge a woman's special victim status. We hear the whispers when we are children: girls get raped" (309; italics in original). Brownmiller, along with other feminist anti-rape critics of the 1970s, played an important role in exposing the high incidence of sexual violence against women in Western societies, which until then had been drastically under-recognized (Gavey 59). These feminist critics challenged victim-blaming rhetoric—which suggested that women subjected to sexual violence somehow deserved or invited the attack—and used the "language of victimization" to emphasize instead the powerlessness of victims and to acknowledge the harm that sexual violence inflicts on one's life and identity (59). While this move was an attempt to ensure that the responsibility for sexual violence lay solely on the shoulders of perpetrators, it had the unintended effect of preemptively constituting all women as victims (Mardorossian 752).1 As victim rhetoric became ubiquitous in discussions of sexual violence, the notion of victimhood became increasingly characterized by passivity, harm, and an inability to defend or assert oneself. Being labeled a victim denoted the compromising of one's identity and the infliction of irreparable damage, leaving one less of the person who s/he was before the rape or assault (Lamb, "Constructing" 109). This set of associations, in turn, led to a rejection in the 1990s of the term "victim" and its subsequent replacement with "survivor" in an effort to evoke agency and resistance as opposed to violation (119; see also Projansky 9). However, in her edited collection New Versions of Victims, psychologist Sharon Lamb argues in "Constructing the Victim" that this backlash against victim rhetoric denies the legitimacy of feelings of powerlessness, humiliation, and/or shame that sexual violence can cause. Rather than replacing the term "victim," [End Page 308] Lamb critiques the pathologizing of victims in social, psychological, and legal discourses, and how this practice reinforces the association of victimization with weakness, passivity, or hysteria (120). There is thus a tension between two opposing subject positions: the rape Victim versus the rape Survivor (Spry 27). The way in which Victims are pathologized and required to suffer long-lasting harm denies them agency (Lamb, "Constructing" 109), while a Survivor is required to have actively fought against the assault/s, regardless of the circumstances (119).2 Many texts that represent sexual violence against women reproduce this Victim/Survivor dichotomy, and dominant among these texts is the narrative of recovery, in which the Victim—through various acts of empowerment and disclosure—becomes a Survivor. While such narratives of healing may be uplifting, their prevalence in fiction about sexual violence invites critique. In this article I consider the representation of sexual violence in some contemporary Western adolescent novels, positing that many adhere to a Victim-to-Survivor narrative in which a damaged, powerless Victim must recuperate a sense of self through the healing journey of the narrative and emerge at its end an empowered Survivor, having resolved the harm inflicted upon her. While I discuss Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak (1999) and Louisa Luna's Brave New Girl (2001) as two examples of the Victim-to-Survivor narrative, my primary focus is on Australian author Kirsty Eagar's Raw Blue (2009) as a text that resists this trend. Specifically, I examine the use of first-person/present-tense (FPPT) narration and the relationship constructed between narrator and reader in this narrative style to demonstrate how Raw Blue challenges the Victim/Survivor dichotomy. While my argument is underpinned by narratological analysis of FPPT narration in Raw Blue, it is not FPPT alone that I suggest resists normative narrative tropes. Rather, I posit that Raw Blue's unique resistance to such tropes is embedded in its use of FPPT narration. My approach, I hope, makes a case for further narratological analysis in adolescent literary scholarship, without suggesting that we uncouple narrative style from content and its attendant...

Depletion of FOXM1 via MET Targeting Underlies Establishment of a DNA Damage-Induced Senescence Program in Gastric Cancer.

Deregulated signaling via the MET receptor tyrosine kinase is abundant in gastric tumors, with up to 80% of cases displaying aberrant MET expression. A growing body of evidence suggests MET as a potential target for tumor radiosensitization. Cellular proliferation and DNA damage-induced senescence were studied in a panel of MET-overexpressing human gastric cancer cell lines as well as in xenograft models after MET inhibition and/or ionizing radiation. Pathways activation and protein expression were assessed by immunoblotting and immunohistochemistry. Tumor tissue microarrays (91 gastric cancer patients) were generated and copy number alteration (178 patients) and gene expression (373 patients) data available at The Cancer Genome Atlas were analyzed to assess the coalterations of MET and FOXM1. MET targeting administered before ionizing radiation instigates DNA damage-induced senescence (∼80%, P < 0.001) rather than cell death. MET inhibition-associated senescence is linked to the blockade of MAPK pathway, correlates with downregulation of FOXM1, and can be abrogated (11.8% vs. 95.3%, P < 0.001) by ectopic expression of FOXM1 in the corresponding gastric tumor cells. Cells with ectopic FOXM1 expression demonstrate considerable (∼20%, P < 0.001) growth advantage despite MET targeting, suggesting a novel clinically relevant resistance mechanism to MET inhibition as the copresence of both MET and FOXM1 protein (33%) and mRNA (30%) overexpression as well as gene amplification (24,7%) are common in patients with gastric cancer. FOXM1, a negative regulator of senescence, has been identified as a key downstream effector and potential clinical biomarker that mediates MET signaling following infliction of DNA damage in gastric tumors. Clin Cancer Res; 22(21); 5322-36. ©2016 AACR.

Civil-Legal Protection of Copyright and Related Rights in Kosovo

Copyright is a subjective right of absolute character that has a special importance for dignitary. Bearing in mind the fact this right and other related rights are being violated constantly in different ways, there have been attempts in establishing a regulatory framework which guarantees the protection of this right. It is worth emphasizing that protection of this right and other related rights can be done in various ways such as: civil-legal protection, criminal-legal, administrative-legal, international legal and protection through arbitration. Active legitimacy to initiate procedure for civil-legal protection of copyright and related rights has the author or the winner of exclusive authorizations. The initiation of this procedure is done through a lawsuit under civil procedure rules and the Law on Copyright and Related Rights. However to get to this first it has to come to violation of copyright or related rights. It must be emphasized that legal framework in Kosovo determined cases which constitute the violation of copyright and related rights. Concerning this, under the Law on Copyright and Related Rights it has been specified that as violation shall be considered the use of any copyright without permission of the author. Thus, for instance in Kosovo and in many other countries piracy is a social phenomenon that violation reaches that degree sometimes is created the impression that user does these actions on a regular basis. In Kosovo is not in favor of these trends the lack of legal framework providing protection of copyright and related rights, but inaction of particular state segments in order to exercise proper supervision for implementation of legal framework in protection of those rights. By having this in mind, is noticed clearly the importance of protection copyright and related rights. Consequently it should come to the fulfillment regarding terms protection in order to ensure civil legal protection of copyright and related rights. Concerning this it could be said that initially must be ascertained the violation of copyright. In the following in order to be established the liability of offender it is necessary to prove the culpability or culpable action of user of copyright. Also is very essential the causal link between undertaken action and caused consequence respectively infliction of damage to author or holder of that right. Therefore, in order to be established the liability of particular subject for violation of copyright and related rights is necessary to be fulfilled the abovementioned conditions in a cumulative manner, which shall be handled separately in the following of this scientific paper.

Soluciones del Derecho Internacional Privado para Deducir Responsabilidad Civil por Daño Ambiental Transfronterizo en Honduras

Este documento se enfoca en la resolución de conflictos generados por la causación de daño al ambiente, y la responsabilidad patrimonial que este genera, particularmente cuando la contaminación trasciende las fronteras de un Estado y manifiesta sus efectos en otro.Ante la complejidad de ese supuesto, se intenta ofrecer una explicación coherente de la forma en que esos conflictos podrían resolverse en el ámbito hondureño, considerando que la situación geográfica del país hace que sea muy probable la ocurrencia de una eventualidad de estas características, y determinar cuáles son las soluciones que el Derecho Internacional privado proporciona según el esquema normativo hondureño para resolver los supuestos transfronterizos en los que debe deducir la responsabilidad civil, tales como la competencia judicial internacional y la ley aplicable.Innovare. Vol. 3, Núm 1 (2014) 1 – 13

Improved models of harvest-induced bark damage

We provided a precise quantitative analysis of the factors at the origin of bark damage during harvesting operations and developed a model able to predict them accurately. The major factors were the distance of trees to skid trails, the intensity of removals, the harvesting system as well as the interactions between the distance of trees to skid trails with harvesting systems, the average skidding distance, the tree species and tree height. During timber harvesting, trees in the remaining stand may suffer bark damage resulting from tree-felling or log manipulation. Although a multitude of case studies and empirical observations provide qualitative and quantitative information with respect to the potential causal factors, the basic quantitative relationship between major factors of influence and the resulting degree of bark damage remains largely unclear. The objective was to provide a precise quantitative analysis of impact factors explaining the occurrence of bark damage during harvesting operations. Three different modelling approaches were tested: boosted regression tree (BRT), a generalised linear mixed effects model (GLMM) and Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo generalised linear mixed models (MCMCglmm). The major factors with a significant impact on the occurrence of bark damage were the distance of trees to skid trails, the intensity of removals, the harvesting system and the interaction term between the distance of trees to skid trails with harvesting systems, average skidding distance, tree species and tree height. The final model includes the relevant major factors impacting on the infliction of bark damage during practical harvesting operations. Furthermore, it discriminates well with respect to the occurrence of bark damage, and it provides managers with a rational and conclusive tool for optimising harvesting operations.

Cellular uptake and in vitro antitumor efficacy of composite liposomes for neutron capture therapy.

BackgroundNeutron capture therapy for glioblastoma has focused mainly on the use of 10B as neutron capture isotope. However, 157Gd offers several advantages over boron, such as higher cross section for thermal neutrons and the possibility to perform magnetic resonance imaging during neutron irradiation, thereby combining therapy and diagnostics. We have developed different liposomal formulations of gadolinium-DTPA (Magnevist®) for application in neutron capture therapy of glioblastoma. The formulations were characterized physicochemically and tested in vitro in a glioma cell model for their effectiveness.MethodsLiposomes entrapping gadolinium-DTPA as neutron capture agent were manufactured via lipid/film-extrusion method and characterized with regard to size, entrapment efficiency and in vitro release. For neutron irradiation, F98 and LN229 glioma cells were incubated with the newly developed liposomes and subsequently irradiated at the thermal column of the TRIGA reactor in Mainz. The dose rate derived from neutron irradiation with 157Gd as neutron capturing agent was calculated via Monte Carlo simulations and set in relation to the respective cell survival.ResultsThe liposomal Gd-DTPA reduced cell survival of F98 and LN229 cells significantly. Differences in liposomal composition of the formulations led to distinctly different outcome in cell survival. The amount of cellular Gd was not at all times proportional to cell survival, indicating that intracellular deposition of formulated Gd has a major influence on cell survival. The majority of the dose contribution arises from photon cross irradiation compared to a very small Gd-related dose.ConclusionsLiposomal gadolinium formulations represent a promising approach for neutron capture therapy of glioblastoma cells. The liposome composition determines the uptake and the survival of cells following radiation, presumably due to different uptake pathways of liposomes and intracellular deposition of gadolinium-DTPA. Due to the small range of the Auger and conversion electrons produced in 157Gd capture, the proximity of Gd-atoms to cellular DNA is a crucial factor for infliction of lethal damage. Furthermore, Gd-containing liposomes may be used as MRI contrast agents for diagnostic purposes and surveillance of tumor targeting, thus enabling a theranostic approach for tumor therapy.

Differentiating Between Genuine Damage and Falsified Damage to a Garment Following an Alleged Sexual Assault*

An allegation of sexual assault was made in which a bra was torn off by the assailant causing extensive damage; however, it was observed that the hook and eye fastening was still intact. It was felt that it was not possible for a garment to receive such damage without damage to the hook and eye fastening, thus indicating that the complainant caused the damage to the bra herself to support a false allegation. Reconstruction experiments were conducted in which the conditions of the allegation were simulated utilizing a range of similar bras. Following the infliction of damage, the hook and eye fastenings were examined. In eight of nine experiments, the hook and eye fastening were intact, despite the application of enough force to cause separation of the bra cups in five of the experiments. This shows that bras may suffer extensive damage without damage to the hook and eye fastening.

Mitochondria induce oxidative stress, generation of reactive oxygen species and redox state unbalance of the eye lens leading to human cataract formation: disruption of redox lens organization by phospholipid hydroperoxides as a common basis for cataract disease

The aging eye appears to be at considerable risk from oxidative stress. Lipid peroxidation (LPO) is one of the mechanisms of cataractogenesis, initiated by enhanced promotion of oxygen free radicals in the eye fluids and tissues and impaired enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant defenses of the crystalline lens. The present study proposes that mitochondria are one of the major sources of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in mammalian and human lens epithelial cells and that therapies that protect mitochondria in lens epithelial cells from damage and reduce damaging ROS generation may potentially ameliorate the effects of free radical-induced oxidation that occur in aging ocular tissues and in human cataract diseases. It has been found that rather than complete removal of oxidants by the high levels of protective enzyme activities such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, lipid peroxidases in transparent lenses, the lens conversely, possess a balance between peroxidants and antioxidants in a way that normal lens tends to generate oxidants diffusing from lenticular tissues, shifting the redox status of the lens to become more oxidizing during both morphogenesis and aging. Release of the oxidants (O(2)(-)·, H(2)O(2) , OH·, and lipid hydroperoxides) by the intact lenses in the absence of respiratory inhibitors indicates that these metabolites are normal physiological products inversely related to the lens life-span potential (maturity of cataract) generated through the metal-ion catalyzed redox-coupled pro-oxidant activation of the lens reductants (ascorbic acid, glutathione). The membrane-bound phospholipid (PL) hydroperoxides escape detoxification by the lens enzymatic reduction. The lens cells containing these species would be vulnerable to peroxidative attack which trigger the PL hydroperoxide-dependent chain propagation of LPO and other damages in membrane (lipid and protein alterations). The increased concentrations of primary LPO products (diene conjugates, lipid hydroperoxides) and end fluorescent LPO products were detected in the lipid moiety of the aqueous humor samples obtained from patients with cataract as compared to normal donors. Since LPO is clinically important in many of the pathological effects and aging, new therapeutic modalities, such as patented N-acetylcarnosine prodrug lubricant eye drops, should treat the incessant infliction of damage to the lens cells and biomolecules by reactive lipid peroxides and oxygen species and "refashion" the affected lens membranes in the lack of important metabolic detoxification of PL peroxides. Combined in ophthalmic formulations with N-acetylcarnosine, mitochondria-targeted antioxidants are promising to become investigated as a potential tool for treating a number of ROS-related ocular diseases, including human cataracts.

Main factors causing damage to the high-temperature heating surfaces used in power-generating boilers

Main factors causing damage to the high-temperature heating surfaces used in power-generating boilers are presented, as well as certain design shortcomings of boilers and specific features of their operating conditions due to which infliction of damage to their heating surfaces becomes most probable.

Electroshock Forced on Children and Involuntary Adults

In the United States involuntary adults continue to be administered electroshock treatment (ECT) despite strenuous legal efforts and publicity generated by psychiatric reformers (Oaks, 2009). In Australia psychiatrists have taken shock treatment to a new level of irrationality and abuse by administering ECT to toddlers age 4 and younger in Victoria (Hale, 2009). The controversy over ECT for children has a long history. In 2000 before his untimely death, Steve Baldwin, at the time a professor of psychology in Australia, and his coauthor Melissa Oxlad, wrote a book reviewing and condemning the practice around the world. The inspiration for electroshock treatment was found in a slaughterhouse in Italy in the 1930s. Before being killed, hogs were knocked out by a jolt of electricity to the head and brain. If they were not slaughtered, after a while the animals awoke and were able walk around on wobbly legs. Two Italian psychiatrists learned about this phenomenon and immediately tested electroshocks to the head of an involuntary mental patient. The man was not rendered unconscious by the first application and struggled from the table screaming "Murder!" The doctors administered a more intensive dose, producing a convulsion and then unconsciousness. When he awoke, the previously resentful and resistant man was docile and no longer complained. Almost any form of closed-head injury will produce similar results. Why were psychiatrists searching for new means to traumatize the brain and to produce convulsions? This was the era that originated lobotomy and insulin coma as therapists for institutionalized patients. It was believed that convulsions might have an ameliorative effect on mental disorders. But many doctors also thought that the controlled infliction of brain damage was therapeutic. Until the 1950s, many psychiatrists voiced the opinion that brain damage was good for severely disturbed patients. It certainly made the patients more docile and hence easier to manage in giant state lockups. Only in more recent times, in response to criticism, did shock advocates begin to claim that the treatment was harmless and corrected biochemical imbalances (history reviewed in Breggin, 1979, and more briefly in Breggin, 2008). Shock treatment damages the brain through a variety of mechanisms. First, it causes grand mal seizures that are much more intense and destructive than those spontaneously experienced by people with severe epilepsy. These multiple seizures (typically three per week for a few weeks or more) exhaust and damage neurons or brain cells. Second, the electric current by itself damages the brain by disrupting electrical function, overheating brain tissue, stimulating massive hypertension inside the brain, breaking down the blood brain barrier, and causing tiny blood vessels to spasm shut, depriving neurons of oxygen and nutrients (reviewed in Breggin 1979, 1992, 1998, 2008). Commonly, patients undergo several seconds after ECT in which their brain flatlines-zero detectable electrical activity-a sign of permanent brain death when extended for minutes. Animal studies have shown small hemorrhages and cell death throughout the brain and in the frontal lobes after exposure to doses of ECT that are smaller than presently used in clinical practice (e.g., Alpers, 1946; Hartelius, 1952; studies reviewed in Breggin, 1979, 2008). Recent human studies show that former ECT patients suffer from persistent loss of mental function and dementia (see Breggin, 2008; Sackeim et al., 2007). Unfortunately, shock advocates have proven impervious to science and to public criticism alike and there has been no abatement in the treatment. I have not been alone in criticizing ECT as wholly ineffective (Ross, 2006) and as dangerous. One heroic survivor of ECT and insulin coma, Leonard Frank, spent decades reeducating himself and learning to live with long-term harmful effects, devoting himself to reform in psychiatry and to writing one of the best scientific critiques of ECT (Frank, 1990). …

Customary International Law, Arms Control and the Environment in Outer Space

Recent military doctrines and activities have re-kindled a long-standing debate about the relationship between international law and arms control in space. There is a notion that existing rules governing certain military uses of outer space are inadequate. Nonetheless, protection of the environment remains sacrosanct. While, to some extent, treaty-based rules governing military uses of outer space also seek to place limitations on the deliberate infliction of environmental damage for military purposes, the development and role of customary international law are pertinent.

Damage resistance and tolerance of carbon/epoxy composite coupons subjected to simulated lightning strike

Damage is inflicted in a series of carbon fiber/epoxy composite specimens using a simulated lightning strike generator in the effort to understand the fundamental damage response of this material form. The strikes up to 50,000 A and 28,000 V are inflicted on both pristine specimens and specimens containing a Hilok stainless steel fastener. Damage area is evaluated via ultrasonic scanning, and advanced optical microscopy is used to gain further understanding in the morphology of damage. Subsequent mechanical testing to assess the residual tensile and compressive strength and modulus of the material is performed according to ASTM standards. Results show that residual tension strength counter intuitively increases after the infliction of damage, while residual compressive strength is much more dramatically and negatively affected. Furthermore, the presence of the fastener influences dramatically both the state of damage in the specimen and its residual strength by spreading throughout the thickness rather than limiting it to the specimen surface.

Physical and Functional Interaction between Human Oxidized Base-specific DNA Glycosylase NEIL1 and Flap Endonuclease 1

The S phase-specific activation of NEIL1 and not of the other DNA glycosylases responsible for repairing oxidatively damaged bases in mammalian genomes and the activation of NEIL1 by proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) suggested preferential action by NEIL1 in oxidized base repair during DNA replication. Here we show that NEIL1 interacts with flap endonuclease 1 (FEN-1), an essential component of the DNA replication. FEN-1 is present in the NEIL1 immunocomplex isolated from human cell extracts, and the two proteins colocalize in the nucleus. FEN-1 stimulates the activity of NEIL1 in vitro in excising 5-hydroxyuracil from duplex, bubble, forked, and single-stranded DNA substrates by up to 5-fold. The disordered region near the C terminus of NEIL1, which is dispensable for activity, is necessary and sufficient for high affinity binding to FEN-1 (K(D) approximately = 0.2 microm). The interacting interface of FEN-1 is localized in its disordered C-terminal region uniquely present in mammalian orthologs. Fine structure mapping identified several Lys and Arg residues in this region that form salt bridges with Asp and Glu residues in NEIL1. NEIL1 was previously shown to initiate single nucleotide excision repair, which does not require FEN-1 or PCNA. The present study shows that NEIL1 could also participate in strand displacement repair synthesis (long patch repair (LP-BER)) mediated by FEN-1 and stimulated by PCNA. Interaction between NEIL1 and FEN-1 is essential for efficient NEIL1-initiated LP-BER. These studies strongly implicate NEIL1 in a distinct subpathway of LP-BER in replicating genomes.

Role of nuclear factor κB and mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling in exercise-induced antioxidant enzyme adaptation

Activation of nuclear factor (NF) kappaB and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways in skeletal muscle has been shown to enhance the gene expression of several enzymes that play an important role in maintaining oxidant-antioxidant homeostasis, such as mitochondrial superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). While an acute bout of exercise activates NF kappaB and MAPK signaling and upregulates MnSOD and iNOS, administration of chemical agents that suppress reactive oxygen species (ROS) production can cause attenuation of exercise-induced MnSOD and iNOS expression. Thus, ROS generation during exercise may have duel effects: the infliction of oxidative stress and damage, and the stimulation of adaptive responses favoring long-term protection. This scenario explains why animals and humans involved in exercise training have demonstrated increased resistance to oxidative damage under a wide range of physiological and pathological stresses.

Volatile bodies: Stories of corporeal pleasure and damage in marginalised young people's drug use

Background This paper explores the connection between meaning and corporeal pleasure in drug use experience through considering accounts of inhalant use made by marginalised young people in Melbourne, Australia. Inhalants (also known as volatile substances or solvents) have a reputation internationally as drugs of desperation rather than enjoyment. Corporeal pleasure as a motive for inhalant use is generally overlooked in policy, drug research literature and health education—as is frequently the case also in relation to other forms of drug use practiced by marginalised peoples. In contrast, harms such as brain damage and death are strongly emphasised. Methods Twenty-seven young people with current or past experience of inhalant use were interviewed, each between one and three times. Participants were asked to speak about what they liked and did not like about inhalant use. A narrative analysis was used to identify stories about the bodily encounter with inhalants that were iterated across interview transcripts. Results Two narratives about corporeal experiences of inhalant-induced intoxication are discussed here, both of which research participants framed within an understanding of these drugs as pre-eminently dangerous. The first narrative is that inhalant use is an ineffable experience of the body. The second links the intensity of pleasure occasioned by inhalant use with the infliction of brain damage and risk of death. Conclusion Catastrophic beliefs about the dangers associated with inhalant use serve in some instances to accentuate the pleasures it affords users, and at the same time debilitate their sense of capacity to change. Additionally, where drug users are depicted as self-harming rather than seekers of (albeit risky) pleasure, the range of policy options likely to be implemented is restricted. Education provided through drug treatment presents an opportunity to counter some of the harms associated with narratives of pleasure and damage in drug use.