Democracy and the Peaceful Settlement of International Conflict

1994 ◽  
Vol 88 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
William J. Dixon

The research reported here develops an explanation for the often-noted absence of international war between democratic states. This explanation is derived from a theoretical rationale centered on universal democratic norms for reconciling competing values and interests. I argue that democratic states locked in disputes are better equipped than others with the means for diffusing conflict situations at an early stage before they have an opportunity to escalate to military violence. Not only is this explanatory logic consistent with the published findings on democracy and war, but it also entails the novel empirical proposition that disputes between democracies are more amenable than are other disputes to peaceful settlements, the hypothesis I examine here. Analyses of contemporary interstate disputes reveal that even when potentially confounding factors are controlled, democratic opponents are significantly more likely to reach peaceful settlements than other types of disputants.

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (10) ◽  
pp. 1682-1695
Author(s):  
Foziyah Zakir ◽  
Kanchan Kohli ◽  
Farhan J. Ahmad ◽  
Zeenat Iqbal ◽  
Adil Ahmad

Osteoporosis is a progressive bone disease that remains unnoticed until a fracture occurs. It is more predominant in the older age population, particularly in females due to reduced estrogen levels and ultimately limited calcium absorption. The cost burden of treating osteoporotic fractures is too high, therefore, primary focus should be treatment at an early stage. Most of the marketed drugs are available as oral delivery dosage forms. The complications, as well as patient non-compliance, limit the use of oral therapy for prolonged drug delivery. Transdermal delivery systems seem to be a promising approach for the delivery of anti-osteoporotic active moieties. One of the confronting barriers is the passage of drugs through the SC layers followed by penetration to deeper dermal layers. The review focuses on how anti-osteoporotic drugs can be molded through different approaches so that they can be exploited for the skin to systemic delivery. Insights into the various challenges in transdermal delivery and how the novel delivery system can be used to overcome these have also been detailed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed A. Daw

Background: Since the Arab uprising in 2011, Libya, Syria and Yemen have gone through major internal armed conflicts. This resulted in large numbers of deaths, injuries, and population displacements, with collapse of the healthcare systems. Furthermore, the situation was complicated by the emergence of COVID-19 as a global pandemic, which made the populations of these countries struggle under unusual conditions to deal with both the pandemic and the ongoing wars. This study aimed to determine the impact of the armed conflicts on the epidemiology of the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) within these war-torn countries and highlight the strategies needed to combat the spread of the pandemic and its consequences.Methods: Official and public data concerning the dynamics of the armed conflicts and the spread of SARS-COV-2 in Libya, Syria and Yemen were collected from all available sources, starting from the emergence of COVID-19 in each country until the end of December 2020. Datasets were analyzed by a set of statistical techniques and the weekly resolved data were used to probe the link between the intensity levels of the conflict and the prevalence of COVID-19.Results: The data indicated that there was an increase in the intensity of the violence at an early stage from March to August 2020, when it approximately doubled in the three countries, particularly in Libya. During that period, few cases of COVID-19 were reported, ranging from 5 to 53 cases/day. From September to December 2020, a significant decline in the intensity of the armed conflicts was accompanied by steep upsurges in the rate of COVID-19 cases, which reached up to 500 cases/day. The accumulative cases vary from one country to another during the armed conflict. The highest cumulative number of cases were reported in Libya, Syria and Yemen.Conclusions: Our analysis demonstrates that the armed conflict provided an opportunity for SARS-CoV-2 to spread. The early weeks of the pandemic coincided with the most intense period of the armed conflicts, and few cases were officially reported. This indicates undercounting and hidden spread during the early stage of the pandemic. The pandemic then spread dramatically as the armed conflict declined, reaching its greatest spread by December 2020. Full-blown transmission of the COVID-19 pandemic in these countries is expected. Therefore, urgent national and international strategies should be implemented to combat the pandemic and its consequences.


2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-35
Author(s):  
Sivaranjani K ◽  
Rajarajan S

God created women in the incarnation of himself how flowers are soft and tender women’s attitude also springy and gentle. In every bud beautiful flowers hiding themselves like in every woman their powerful attitude towards nature are camouflaged, their potentiality will prim out automatically in a needy situationand they shine beautifully like full bloomed flowers in their looming. Women are like grey, white moths in the earlier phase without maturity, they may act childishly. But through their full prime of life and progress, they turned into the spectacular multihued butterfly and they burnish glowing in their society and family life. That’s the attitude of Clarissa,who behaved has a moth in early stage, thenmatured as a full blown fantabulous butterfly by giving the party. The novel “Mrs. Dalloway” starts and ends on the same day by narrating how human beings are close with nature and how they preserve and conserve ourenvironment..


2020 ◽  
Vol 148 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Khosravi ◽  
R. Chaman ◽  
M. Rohani-Rasaf ◽  
F. Zare ◽  
S. Mehravaran ◽  
...  

Abstract The aim of this study was to estimate the basic reproduction number (R0) of COVID-19 in the early stage of the epidemic and predict the expected number of new cases in Shahroud in Northeastern Iran. The R0 of COVID-19 was estimated using the serial interval distribution and the number of incidence cases. The 30-day probable incidence and cumulative incidence were predicted using the assumption that daily incidence follows a Poisson distribution determined by daily infectiousness. Data analysis was done using ‘earlyR’ and ‘projections’ packages in R software. The maximum-likelihood value of R0 was 2.7 (95% confidence interval (CI): 2.1−3.4) for the COVID-19 epidemic in the early 14 days and decreased to 1.13 (95% CI 1.03–1.25) by the end of day 42. The expected average number of new cases in Shahroud was 9.0 ± 3.8 cases/day, which means an estimated total of 271 (95% CI: 178–383) new cases for the period between 02 April to 03 May 2020. By day 67 (27 April), the effective reproduction number (Rt), which had a descending trend and was around 1, reduced to 0.70. Based on the Rt for the last 21 days (days 46–67 of the epidemic), the prediction for 27 April to 26 May is a mean daily cases of 2.9 ± 2.0 with 87 (48–136) new cases. In order to maintain R below 1, we strongly recommend enforcing and continuing the current preventive measures, restricting travel and providing screening tests for a larger proportion of the population.


2011 ◽  
Vol 22 (12) ◽  
pp. 2083-2093 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. James Scrivens ◽  
Baraa Noueihed ◽  
Nassim Shahrzad ◽  
Sokunthear Hul ◽  
Stephanie Brunet ◽  
...  

TRAPP is a multisubunit tethering complex implicated in multiple vesicle trafficking steps in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and conserved throughout eukarya, including humans. Here we confirm the role of TRAPPC2L as a stable component of mammalian TRAPP and report the identification of four novel components of the complex: C4orf41, TTC-15, KIAA1012, and Bet3L. Two of the components, KIAA1012 and Bet3L, are mammalian homologues of Trs85p and Bet3p, respectively. The remaining two novel TRAPP components, C4orf41 and TTC-15, have no homologues in S. cerevisiae. With this work, human homologues of all the S. cerevisiae TRAPP proteins, with the exception of the Saccharomycotina-specific subunit Trs65p, have now been reported. Through a multidisciplinary approach, we demonstrate that the novel proteins are bona fide components of human TRAPP and implicate C4orf41 and TTC-15 (which we call TRAPPC11 and TRAPPC12, respectively) in ER-to-Golgi trafficking at a very early stage. We further present a binary interaction map for all known mammalian TRAPP components and evidence that TRAPP oligomerizes. Our data are consistent with the absence of a TRAPP I–equivalent complex in mammalian cells, suggesting that the fundamental unit of mammalian TRAPP is distinct from that characterized in S. cerevisiae.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 321-345
Author(s):  
Abdulmalik M. ALTAMIMI

AbstractThis paper aims to provide a comprehensive legal analysis, reminding the reader of the missing roles and potential of the the Gulf Cooperation Council [GCC]. Interstate disputes threaten the very existence of the GCC. Moreover, they call into question the GGC's mechanisms for co-operation and for ensuring the peaceful settlement of disputes. For instance, the GCC's Charter, commercial arbitration rules, and the Basic Law of the Economic Judiciary Commission all provide provisions for peacefully settling disputes between GCC Member States and their citizens. GCC states are also members of the League of Arab States [Arab League], another important regional organization with dispute settlement procedures. However, GCC and Arab League judicial and quasi-judicial mechanisms have not been invoked to date, arguably because the states prefer a diplomatic settlement. This paper reviews the GCC's mechanisms for co-operation and dispute settlement, referencing public international law to formulate recommendations to reform the GCC.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Feng Peng ◽  
Shi Cheng ◽  
Ruiying Zhang ◽  
Mei Li ◽  
Jielong Zhou ◽  
...  

Abstract Infection and insufficient osteointegration are the main causes of orthopedic implant failure. Furthermore, activating favorable inflammation response is vital to the fast osteointegration of implants. Therefore, endowing the implants with multifunctions (antibacterial, anti-inflammation, and pro-osteointegration) is a promising strategy to improve the performance of orthopedic implants. In this study, a Zn-contained polydopamine (PDA) film was fabricated on AZ31 alloy. The film possessed a stable Zn ion release in 14 days. The results of electrochemical analysis implied the favorable corrosion protection of the film, and thus, leading to a suitable hemolysis ratio (below 1%). The in vitro antibacterial assessment revealed that the film exhibited excellent resistance against Staphylococcus aureus (nearly 100%), which can be ascribed to the release of Zn ions. The cell-culture evaluation revealed that the extract of Zn-contained PDA-coated sample can activate RAW264.7 polarization to an anti-inflammatory phenotype, as well as enhance the osteogenic differentiation ability of MC3T3-E1. Additionally, the femoral osteomyelitis model indicated that the as-prepared film had a high antibacterial capability at early stage of the implantation, and showed better osteogenesis and osteointegration after 8 weeks of implantation. With favorable antibacterial, anti-inflammation, and pro-osteogenesis abilities, the novel designed Zn-contained PDA film is promising to be used in Mg-based orthopedic implants.


2003 ◽  
Vol 47 (10) ◽  
pp. 3305-3310 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy G. Brayman ◽  
John W. Wilks

ABSTRACT We implemented a simple, sensitive, objective, and rapid cellular assay to reveal the antifungal activity of a novel class of glucan synthase inhibitors. The assay, especially useful for early drug discovery, measures the transformation of Candida albicans from the yeast form to the hyphal form. Test compounds were ranked by potency (50% inhibitory concentration) and efficacy (percent inhibition of germ tube formation); the intra-assay coefficients of variation for these parameters were 17 and 5%, respectively. The germ tube formation assay proved useful for the early-stage antifungal characterization of a novel class of glucan synthase inhibitors discovered at Pharmacia. Drug concentrations required in this assay to inhibit germ tube formation were lower for 90% of the novel compounds than the concentrations required to determine MICs. The method may have utility for other mechanistic classes of antifungal compounds during the hit-to-lead transition of drug discovery.


2013 ◽  
Vol 797 ◽  
pp. 475-480
Author(s):  
Yasunori Kobayashi ◽  
Ryo Ishida ◽  
Haruhisa Sakamoto

In this study, the novel finishing method of the Micro Lens Array mold is proposed. This method combines the cutting by a ball-endmill and the finishing by sphere indentation. In the previous step, U-shape grooves intersected at right angle are machined by a ball-endmill. In the following step, the ball tool indents at the intersection between U-shape grooves, consequently, the aiming lens form and the aiming surface roughness are obtained. From the results of the manufacturing experiments of the MLA mold by this method, the following are made clear : The proposed method is effective to suppress the deformation of neighboring lens forms caused by following indentation. The improvement effect of sphere indentation on the finished surface roughness is remarkable in the early stage of indentation. The transcribing deviations are 12μm or less in comparison between the radius of lens form and the ideal value regardless of radii in grooves previously cut. In case of the indentation of neighboring four (2 × 2) lenses, the deviation reduces down to 3μm.


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