The Geographical Reach of International Humanitarian Law in Transnational Armed Conflict

Non-international armed conflict between States and organised armed groups is a reality of warfare. Since the emergence of the 1949 Geneva Conventions, this form of conflict has been regulated by international humanitarian law. However, a subset of this category known as ‘transnational armed conflict’ has seen aggressive proliferation over recent decades as groups such as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria have taken advantage of the internet and other technologies to expand their reach beyond national frontiers and strike States around the world. This phenomenon has left the geographical extent of international humanitarian law – which has historically relied on State boundaries to determine its ambit – unclear. This article examines the main options for delimiting the geographical reach of the regime in transnational armed conflict. It considers approaches based on international boundaries; ‘hot battlefields’; ‘global application’ and ‘territorial control’ before ultimately concluding that a method based on ‘military presence’ would be the most suitable standard.

Proof of Principle of a Fuel Injector Based on a Magnetostrictive Actuator

One of the goals of modern internal combustion engines is the NOx-soot trade-off, and this would be better achieved by a better control of the fuel injection. Moreover, this feature can be also useful for high-performance hydraulic systems. Actual fuel injection technology either allows only the control of the injection time or it is based on very complex mechanical-hydraulic systems, as in the case of piezo-actuators. This work describes the basic steps that brought the authors to the realization of a concept fuel injector based on a Terfenol-D magnetostrictive actuator that could overcome the previous issues, being both simple and controllable. The study provides the design, development, and a feasibility analysis of a magnetostrictive actuator for fuel injection, by providing a basic magneto-static analysis of the actuator, the adaptation of a suitable standard fuel injector, and its experimental testing in a lab environment, with different shapes and amplitude of the reference signal to follow.

Quality Appraisal of the Pharmacoeconomic Research Literature about Antivirals: A Comparison between Chinese Medicine and Non-Chinese Medicine

Introduction. Antiviral activity is a main function of many types of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), and they may contribute more in the process of certain viral epidemics. Therefore, based on the effectiveness and economy of TCM, we aimed to determine the situation of health economic studies about antivirals, especially the difference between TCM and non-TCM. Methods. A literature search of three databases was conducted with a time range of January 2000–December 2020, and terms related to health economics and TCM were used as key terms. QHES and CHEERS were used as quality assessment tools. Results. 203 papers were included in our research. After evaluation using QHES and CHEERS, antiviral TCM obtained an overall score of 41.37 ± 4.46/99 in QHES, compared with 48.89 ± 7.25/99 (18.18% higher than TCM) of antiviral non-TCM. Conclusion. With a statistically significant difference, the overall quality of pharmacoeconomic research about antiviral non-Chinese medicine is better than that about antiviral Chinese medicine, which may have resulted from researchers’ capacities or the absence of a more suitable standard for pharmacoeconomic research. It tells that the quality of pharmacoeconomic studies about TCM still warrants improvement.

Crop quality control and testing.

Quality of horticultural produce and products implies suitability for a particular purpose, or the degree to which certain set standards are met. Aspects of produce quality may encompass sensory properties (appearance, texture, taste and aroma), nutritive values, chemical constituents, mechanical properties, functional properties and defects (Abbott, 1999). Fruit and vegetable production, being part of a larger biological system, is prone to a high degree of variability as factors such as climate, soils, crop management, and genetics all play a role in quality determination. Quality standards and testing methods have been developed for most commercial crops to help ensure consumers receive produce of a suitable standard. These quality standards can range from basic grading for removal of damaged produce and for size, shape, weight and overall appearance, to analytical testing for compositional factors such as acidity, volatiles, dry matter, starch and sugars, toxins, vitamins and minerals, and others. With increasing competition globally within the horticultural industry, and consumers growing interest in high quality, nutritious produce, compositional testing has become more widespread, both at a grower and postharvest level. While appearance is still vitally important in marketing and for consumer appeal at the point of sale, focus on other aspects of fruit and vegetable quality is becoming more prominent. These include not only organoleptic qualities of flavour and aroma, but also nutritional factors such as vitamin and minerals, fibre content and levels of phytoactive compounds such as antioxidants. Compositional quality also encompasses food safety and shelf life concerns such as the presence of nitrates in leafy greens, microbial contamination and naturally occurring toxins, with implications for human health and food-borne illness occurrence.

Multimodal meaning making: The annotation of nonverbal elements in multimodal corpus transcription

The article discusses how to integrate annotation for nonverbal elements (NVE) from multimodal raw data as part of a standardized corpus transcription. We argue that it is essential to include multimodal elements when investigating conversational data, and that in order to integrate these elements, a structured approach to complex multimodal data is needed. We discuss how to formulate a structured corpus-suitable standard syntax and taxonomy for nonverbal features such as gesture, facial expressions, and physical stance, and how to integrate it in a corpus. Using corpus examples, the article describes the development of a robust annotation system for spoken language in the corpus of Video-mediated English as a Lingua Franca Conversations (ViMELF 2018) and illustrates how the system can be used for the study of spoken discourse. The system takes into account previous research on multimodality, transcribes salient nonverbal features in a concise manner, and uses a standard syntax. While such an approach introduces a degree of subjectivity through the criteria of salience and conciseness, the system also offers considerable advantages: it is versatile and adaptable, flexible enough to work with a wide range of multimodal data, and it allows both quantitative and qualitative research on the pragmatics of interaction.

Greenhouse produce quality and assessment.

'Quality' of greenhouse and hydroponic produce implies suitability for a particular purpose or the degree to which certain set standards are met. Aspects of produce quality may encompass sensory properties (appearance, texture, taste and aroma), nutritive values, chemical constituents, mechanical properties, functional properties and defects. Quality standards and testing methods have been developed for most commercial crops to help ensure consumers receive produce of a suitable standard. These quality standards can range from basic grading for removal of damaged produce and for size, shape, weight and overall appearance, to analytical testing for compositional factors such as acidity, volatiles, dry matter, starch and sugars, toxins, vitamins and minerals, and others. This chapter discusses the components of crop quality, quality improvement, cultural practices to improve greenhouse produce quality (nutrient solution electrical conductivity levels, salinity and deficit irrigation), environmental conditions (including light and temperature) affecting quality of greenhouse crops, role of genetics in the quality of greenhouse-grown produce, microbial quality and food safety. Different quality testing and grading methods are described such as colour analysis, total soluble solids (Brix) testing, sensory evaluation of compositional quality, volatiles testing (aroma), texture and firmness quality assessment.

Greenhouse produce quality and assessment.

'Quality' of greenhouse and hydroponic produce implies suitability for a particular purpose or the degree to which certain set standards are met. Aspects of produce quality may encompass sensory properties (appearance, texture, taste and aroma), nutritive values, chemical constituents, mechanical properties, functional properties and defects. Quality standards and testing methods have been developed for most commercial crops to help ensure consumers receive produce of a suitable standard. These quality standards can range from basic grading for removal of damaged produce and for size, shape, weight and overall appearance, to analytical testing for compositional factors such as acidity, volatiles, dry matter, starch and sugars, toxins, vitamins and minerals, and others. This chapter discusses the components of crop quality, quality improvement, cultural practices to improve greenhouse produce quality (nutrient solution electrical conductivity levels, salinity and deficit irrigation), environmental conditions (including light and temperature) affecting quality of greenhouse crops, role of genetics in the quality of greenhouse-grown produce, microbial quality and food safety. Different quality testing and grading methods are described such as colour analysis, total soluble solids (Brix) testing, sensory evaluation of compositional quality, volatiles testing (aroma), texture and firmness quality assessment.

CONGENITAL PSEUDOARTHROSIS TIBIA IN CHILD WITH NEUROFIBROMATOSIS TYPE 1 TREATED WITH THE COMBINED VASCULARIZED FIBULAR GRAFT AND ELASTIC STABLE INTRAMEDULLARY NAIL (ESIN)

Background: CPT is a disorder characterized by a nonunion tibial fracture that occurs spontaneously or after trivial trauma. Therapy usually includes surgical management and aims to gain lifetime bony union, avoid leg length discrepancy, and to prevent mechanical axis deviation, surrounding soft tissue lesion, joint stiffness, and pathological fracture. CPT remains to be a challenging orthopedic issue due to the difficulty to gain and to maintain the union and a functional limb. The combined VFG and ESIN is one of our preferred method in Surabaya.Case: A 13-year-old boy complained about crooked right lower leg since 1-year old, and fractured at 11 years old. In January 2014, the patient underwent ORIF ESIN combined with free VFG. The patient got bony union 24 months after the ORIF ESIN and VFG surgery. RUST modified scoring system showed a score out of 3, which signified that there was a radiographically significant union at the site of tibial pseudoarthrosis.Discussion: The combined VFG and ESIN is to maintain bony union and stability. Intramedullary fixation offers a good tibial alignment and prevents refracture. Hypertrophy and the vitality of VFG support the bony union. The level of success rate in both primary and secondary union is a benefit shown after VFG therapy.Conclusion: The combination of VFG after complete resection of tibial pseudoarthrosis and ESIN in this case report showed a success in achieving and maintaining the bony union, thus this therapy became one of the preferences as a suitable standard therapy that we use in our hospital institution.

Labor performance as one of the elements of personnel control and management in hotels in Syria

Increased productivity is one of the least studied and challenging aspects of hotel and restaurant business management. The requirement to ensure productivity growth in order to survive and sustain business, including in Syria’s resurgent hospitality industry, is becoming increasingly important for managers. The active work of hotel managers in motivating and controlling staff in hotels should be a relevant and popular element in the development of a modern entrepreneurial culture, and better service. This article discusses what service productivity means, especially in the hospitality industry. This is confirmed by a study of the degree of compliance of the respondent hotels, which have become the object of the study, and labor productivity indicators in order to find a suitable standard of measurement and management system for the hotel industry in Syria. The article also provides an overview of the latest trends in the hotel business of Syria and a detailed analysis of the current tourism situation in Syria, including the study of the productive capacity of the labor force in the field of tourism and hotel in Syria on the basis of age, gender and educational level of workers in this field. This study has an important impact in determining how to increase production capacity in the sector of tourism and hotel in Syria.

Determination of the recommended phase II dose of birinapant in combination with pembrolizumab: Results from the dose-escalation phase of BPT-201.

2506 Background: Birinapant is a bivalent SMAC mimetic targeting cIAP1. Synergistic effects of combining birinapant with immune checkpoint inhibitors have been demonstrated in preclinical models. Based on these observations, a clinical trial with birinapant and pembrolizumab was initiated (NCT02587962). Methods: Patients ≥18 years with advanced solid tumors without further suitable standard therapeutic options were eligible for inclusion. Birinapant (5.6-22 mg/m2) was administered IV on day 1 and 8 in addition to pembrolizumab 200 mg on day 1 in a 21-day cycle until disease progression using standard 3+3 dose-escalation. The primary objective was to determine the safety and tolerability of the recommended phase 2 dose (RP2D) of birinapant in combination with pembrolizumab. Secondary and exploratory objectives included antitumor activity assessed by RECIST 1.1 and iRECIST, pharmacokinetics and assessment of biomarkers including serum cytokines, cIAP1, PD-L1 expression and tumor infiltrating lymphocytes. Results: Nineteen patients were enrolled at 4 dose levels of 5.6 (n = 3), 11 (n = 3), 17 (n = 6) and 22 (n = 7) mg/m2. Most common tumors were pancreatic (n = 5), colorectal (n = 4), ovarian (n = 3) and sarcoma (n = 3). Median prior therapies were 4 (0-12). The most common AE related to any of the study drugs was rash occurring in 3 patients. Ten patients had 17 SAE's of which only one (stomatitis) was judged related to birinapant. Increased ALT/AST (G3/G2) leading to missed day 8 dose constituted a DLT at 22 mg/m2. Grade 2 lipase increases were seen in 2 patients. No cases of Bell’s palsy were detected. ORR by RECIST 1.1 was 5.6% (n = 1) in 18 evaluable patients. The responding patient had microsatellite stable colorectal carcinoma (MSS-CRC)) and remains on therapy 13+ months after first dose. By iRECIST, ORR was 11.1%. CBR (PR+SD) by RECIST was 22.2%. The exposure to birinapant generally increased with dose. The RP2D was determined to be 22 mg/m2. Conclusions: Birinapant and pembrolizumab is a safe and tolerable combination that has shown encouraging signals of efficacy. A phase 2 study evaluating efficacy of this combination in MSS-CRC is ongoing. Clinical trial information: NCT02587962.