Prevalence of Soft Law in the Arctic

Soft law has been observed to be increasing within the frontiers – regions and issue-areas that extend beyond national jurisdiction, and where governance substantively integrates scientific and technological knowledge. The often-used assumption for the prevalence of such instruments has been the uncertainty of scientific knowledge. This paper takes this facile analysis further by examining the dynamic changes to the number and diversity of state and non-state actors as well as their relative influence. Using a revised definition of soft law which encompasses both binding and non-binding forms, this article shows that this has not been the case. Through analysis of the legal framework within which the region is governed and a mixed methodology drawing from the fields of international relations and international law, this research confirms that soft law is prevalent within the Arctic and that it is an outcome of domestic politics, as well as geopolitical tensions among the relevant states.

Novel Structures of Type 1 Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate Dehydrogenase from Escherichia coli Provide New Insights into the Mechanism of Generation of 1,3-Bisphosphoglyceric Acid

Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) is a highly conserved enzyme involved in the ubiquitous process of glycolysis and presents a loop (residues 208–215 of Escherichia coli GAPDH) in two alternative conformations (I and II). It is uncertain what triggers this loop rearrangement, as well as which is the precise site from which phosphate attacks the thioacyl intermediate precursor of 1,3-bisphosphoglycerate (BPG). To clarify these uncertainties, we determined the crystal structures of complexes of wild-type GAPDH (WT) with NAD and phosphate or G3P, and of essentially inactive GAPDH mutants (C150S, H177A), trapping crystal structures for the thioacyl intermediate or for ternary complexes with NAD and either phosphate, BPG, or G3P. Analysis of these structures reported here lead us to propose that phosphate is located in the “new Pi site” attacks the thioester bond of the thioacyl intermediate to generate 1,3-bisphosphoglyceric acid (BPG). In the structure of the thioacyl intermediate, the mobile loop is in conformation II in subunits O, P, and R, while both conformations coexist in subunit Q. Moreover, only the Q subunit hosts bound NADH. In the R subunit, only the pyrophosphate part of NADH is well defined, and NADH is totally absent from the O and P subunits. Thus, the change in loop conformation appears to occur after NADH is produced, before NADH is released. In addition, two new D-glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate (G3P) binding forms are observed in WT.NAD.G3P and C150A+H177A.NAD.G3P. In summary, this paper improves our understanding of the GAPDH catalytic mechanism, particularly regarding BPG formation.

Phosphorus recycling and retention in Lake of the Woods: Reactive-transport diagenetic modeling across spatial and temporal Scales

<p>The dynamics of sediment phosphorus (P) remobilization and recycling in many polymictic systems due to distinct external and internal loading conditions are poorly understood. Here we used a multifaceted approach of quantifying sediment P binding forms and corresponding metal contents in sediment cores down to 30 cm from 8 different locations at Lake of Woods (LOW) in different seasons. We also measured pH, redox potential and dissolved oxygen uptake across the sediment-water interface and the concentration of nutrient and metals in pore water at different depths. Additionally, we applied a reaction-transport diagenetic model to construct the spatial and temporal trend of internal P loading in response to environmental variations. The summer diffusive fluxes of P ranged between 3 and 83 µmol m<sup>-2</sup> d<sup>-1 </sup>whereas the winter fluxes were lower ranged from 0.1 to 0.35 µmol m<sup>-2</sup> d<sup>-1</sup>. P recycling efficiency were 13% to 77%. P bound to redox sensitive iron (Fe)-P binding forms in sediments were the major source of P release in all stations, while P immobilization is controlled by redox-insensitive calcium (Ca)-P phases. The modeling results supported the notion that P release was mostly driven by the diagenetic recycling of redox sensitive and organic bound P.</p>

Coronavirus and Soft Law in Germany: Business as Usual?

In combating the coronavirus pandemic in Germany, soft law has played an important, albeit not a central, role. Its use basically corresponds to that of under “normal circumstances”. In accordance with the German constitutional order, almost all substantial decisions are made in a legally binding form. However, these are often prepared through or supplemented by soft law. This article shows that soft law has played an important role in fighting the pandemic and its effects in Germany, although there cannot be any doubt that legally binding forms of regulation have prevailed. At the same time, the current pandemic has shed light on the advantages and effects of soft law in the context of the German legal order.

INVESTIGATION OF THE MOISTURE BINDING FORMS IN PLANT RAW MATERIALS AND THERMAL CHARACTERISTICS DETERMINATION

In this article, the forms of moisture connection and the thermal characteristics of plant materials are studied. Rosehip and hawthorn fruits were chosen as the object of research. In the heat analyzer, a decrease in the mass of the product and an increase in temperature were found when the temperature was controlled in a certain gas environment. The curves of the dependence of the dog rose and hawthorn samples on the mass and temperature are given. DTA-1/10 galvanometer sensitivity; sensitivity of the DTG-1/5 galvanometer; the maximum heating temperature is 300° С and the rate of change of the furnace heating temperature is 3° С / min. The temperature features of the process of thermolysis of plant products have been studied. As a result of the study, the initial temperature, the highest and the final temperature of endothermic action were determined. The thermophysical properties of rose hips and hawthorn fruits were studied on the basis of experiments and the results are reflected in the tables below. Coefficients of thermal conductivity and specific heat of mass in the temperature range 20-80 ºC are given.

Duby: Dual Binding Semantics

Reference counting is a simple and efficient method for garbage collection. One disadvantage of reference counting is the possible creation of reference cycles. We propose a dynamically typed compiled programming language called Duby, in which values can be bound to either an automatic variable or to a unique hierarchical path. The separation of variable binding forms allows Duby to implement reference counting for automatic variables which refer to values bound to unique hierarchical paths without creating reference cycles. Another advantage of explicit binding of values to unique hierarchical paths is the ability to provide a paradigmatic implementation of programming concepts using filesystem-like abstractions.