4 Recent Work of the International Law Commission

This chapter examines the International Law Commission's (ILC) recent consideration of the topic of jus cogens. It was not until 2015 that the ILC decided to include the topic in its program of work and appointed South African member Dire Tladi as special rapporteur for the topic. The initial report of Tladi addressed conceptual matters such as the nature and definition of jus cogens norms. At its 69th Session in 2017, the ILC had before it the second report submitted by the Special Rapporteur which aimed to set forth the criteria for the identification of peremptory norms, using the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT) as a starting point. Meanwhile, the third report of the Special Rapporteur considered the consequences and legal effects of peremptory norms of general international law. Finally, the fourth report, presented in 2019, dealt with the question of the existence of regional jus cogens and the contentious issue of whether or not to include an illustrative list of jus cogens norms in the conclusions to the study.

Detection of bluetongue virus in Culicoides spp. in southern Yunnan Province, China

Background Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) are vectors for many arboviruses. At least 20 species are considered as vectors or potential vectors of bluetongue virus (BTV) which cause bluetongue disease in ruminants. A BTV prevalence of 30–50% among cattle and goats in tropical southern Yunnan Province, China, prompted an investigation of the potential BTV vectors in this area. Methods Culicoides were collected by light trapping at three sites in the tropical region of Yunnan Province. Species were identified based on morphology and DNA sequences of cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1). PCR and quantitative PCR following reverse transcription were used to test for the presence of BTV RNA in these specimens. Phylogenetic analysis was used to analyze the cox1 sequences of Culicoides specimens infected with BTV. Results Approximately 67,000 specimens of Culicoides were collected, of which 748 were tested for the presence of BTV. Five specimens, including two of Culicoides jacobsoni, one of C. tainanus and two of C. imicola, were identified as infected with BTV. No specimens of C. (subgenus Trithecoides) or C. oxystoma tested were positive for BTV infection. Conclusions To our knowledge this is the first report of C. jacobsoni as a potential BTV vector and the fourth report of an association between C. tainanus and BTV, as well as the first direct evidence of an association between BTV and C. imicola in Asia. A fourth potential cryptic species within C. tainanus was identified in this study. Further analysis is required to confirm the importance of C. jacobsoni and C. tainanus in BTV epidemiology in Asia.

The relationship between body mass index and blood pressure: A study among school going children of Rajasthan, India

Objectives: Hypertension has become common in children and generally remains undiagnosed and untreated. The present study aims to find the prevalence of high blood pressure (BP) and examines the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and BP among school going children. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 240 school going children aged between 10 years and 17 years of Udaipur district of Rajasthan. Data were collected using interview schedules and somatometric measurements were taken based on standardized protocols established by the International Society for the Advancement of Kinanthropometry. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software version 20. Hypertension is considered when BP (systolic BP [SBP] and/or diastolic BP [DBP]) level is ≥95th percentile for height, age, and sex according to the Fourth Report on the Diagnosis, Evaluation, and Treatment of High BP in Children and Adolescents (2004). Results: It was found that 49% children were underweight, 3% were overweight, and 2% were obese. Hypertension was seen in 39 (16.2%) children (5.4% systolic hypertension, 5.8% diastolic hypertension, and 5% both systolic and diastolic hypertension). Children who were overweight/obese were more likely to have hypertension than those who were normal or underweight. Conclusion: The findings of the present study indicate that BMI is a crucial factor affecting BP levels. Simple measurements of body weight and height to determine BMI as a routine assessment in schools would help in controlling BP levels in children that might cause adulthood morbidity and mortality due to hypertension.

Diagnosis of Pediatric Hypertension: European Society of Hypertension-Recommended 24-Hour vs. 24-Hour-Day–Night Ambulatory Blood Pressure Thresholds

Background The impact of diagnosing pediatric hypertension based on all three-24-hour, day and night ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) thresholds (combined ABP threshold) vs. conventionally used 24-hour ABP threshold is not known. Methods In this cross-sectional, retrospective study from a tertiary care outpatient clinic, we evaluated the diagnosis of hypertension based on the 24-hour European Society of Hypertension (ESH) and combined ESH ABP thresholds in untreated children with essential hypertension. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and Fourth Report thresholds were used to classify office blood pressure (OBP). Results In 159 children, aged 5–18 years, the 24-hour ESH and combined ESH thresholds classified 82% (95th confidence interval (CI) 0.68, 0.97) ABP similarly with the area under the curve (AUC) of 0.86 (95th CI 0.80, 0.91). However, the AUC of the 2 ABP thresholds was significantly higher in the participants with office hypertension than office normotension, with OBP classified by the AAP (AUC 0.93, 95th CI 0.84, 0.98 vs. 0.80, 95th CI 0.71, 0.88) or Fourth Report (AUC 0.93, 95th CI 0.83, 0.98 vs. 0.81, 95th CI 0.73, 0.88) threshold. With OBP classified by the either OBP threshold, the combined ESH threshold diagnosed significantly more masked hypertension (MH) (difference 15%, 95th CI 4.9, 24.7; P = 0.00); however, the diagnosis of white coat hypertension (WCH) by the 2 ABP thresholds did not differ significantly (difference 4%, 95th CI 1.8, 10; P = 0.16). Conclusions In children with essential hypertension, the 24-hour and combined ESH thresholds have a stronger agreement for diagnosing WCH than MH.

Successful Endovascular Treatment of Trigeminal Neuralgia Caused by a CarotidCavernous Fistula: Case Report

Dural arteriovenous fistulas (DAVFs) of the cavernous sinus are arteriovenous connections located in the dura mater leaflets of this region. The usual presentation of a DAVF is predominantly ocular, with symptoms such as diplopia, conjunctival injection, involvement of cranial nerves III/IV/VI, exophthalmos, and chemosis. Trigeminal neuralgia caused by a cavernous DAVF is extremely rare. To the best our knowledge, this is only the fourth report in the world literature. We describe the case of a patient treated by embolization in whom the only presenting symptom of DAVF was trigeminal neuralgia. After endovascular treatment, the patient became asymptomatic.

Egg cannibalism by passion vine specialist Disonycha Chevrolat beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Galerucinae: Alticini)

Cannibalistic behavior is now recognized to be an important component of nutritional ecology in both carnivorous and herbivorous species, including many beetle families (Englert and Thomas 1970; Beaver 1974; Dickinson 1992; Bartlett 1987; Alabi et al. 2008). This habit was historically viewed by an incidental outcome of unnaturally crowded laboratory situations with little ecological importance (Fox 1975), but it is increasingly acknowledged that cannibalism represents a potentially advantageous behavior (Richardson et al. 2010). Here we report on multiple cases of egg cannibalism, or conspecific oophagy, by adults of two species of passion vine (Passiflora Linnaeus: Passifloraceae) specialist flea beetles in the genus Disonycha Chevrolat (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Galerucinae: Alticini). This is the first report of egg cannibalism from the Galerucinae, and to our knowledge, only the fourth report of egg cannibalism by adults in the Chrysomelidae; the other three reports are of adult Chrysomelinae species eating conspecific eggs (Dickinson 1992; McCauley 1992; Schrod et al. 1996). We conclude this note with several questions raised by our observations, followed by a discussion that may contribute to explanations of this behavior.

Apert syndrome in a first trimester fetus with diaphragmatic hernia

Apert syndrome (AS) is one of the most commonly described craniosynostosis syndromes. Prenatal diagnosis of left diaphragmatic hernia on malformed fetus with AS at 11+5 week’s of gestation is presented. This is the fourth report of AS in association with diaphragmatic hernia. The diagnosis of AS was confirmed by a molecular analysis of FGFR2, which showed a heterozygous Ser252Trp mutation.

Studies on the life cycle of Pleurogenoides wayanadensis Shinad & Prasadan, 2018 (Digenea: Pleurogenidae) from the Western Ghats, India

The life cycle of Pleurogenoides wayanadensis Shinad & Prasadan, 2018, infecting the frogs Hoplobatrachus tigerinus and Euphlyctis cyanophlyctis, is elucidated in this study. All the life cycle stages from egg to egg-producing adults were elucidated under natural conditions and successfully established in the laboratory. The life cycle took about 58 to 65 days for completion. Miracidia were released by teasing the eggs with fine needles. Sporocysts were found in the freshwater snail, Bithynia (Digoniostoma) pulchella, collected from paddy fields at Payode, Western Ghats, Wayanad region, in the months of October and November 2019. Cercariae were of the virgulate xiphidiocercous type. Metacercariae were recovered from the eyes of the damselfly naiads of the species Ischnura sp. and Copera sp., and the thorax and abdomen of the dragonfly naiads, Orthetrum sp. The metacercariae showed progenetic development. The growth and development of the metacercariae in the naiads that were exposed to cercariae, and development of the trematode in frogs that were force-fed with encysted metacercariae, have been studied at regular intervals. The prepatent period is 14–19 days. The present life cycle study of a Pleurogenoides spp. forms the seventh report from the world, fourth report from India and the third from Kerala.