An exploration of ECtHR jurisprudence governing the administration of release processes for life and long-term sentence prisoners: Perspectives from the United Kingdom

The purpose of the research themes examined in this article is to contribute to the ongoing debate pertaining to substantive criminal laws and procedures governing sentence reviews of prolonged detention for life and long-term sentence prisoners in accordance with Article 5(4) ECHR. The incompatibility of whole life irreducible sentences with Article 3 ECHR is examined through the lens of the ECtHR judgment in Vinter, Moore and Bamber v United Kingdom. The analyses of ECtHR jurisprudence is heavily skewed towards the administration of indeterminate life, and by analogy long-term determinate sentences, in the United Kingdom which is an outlier jurisdiction in a European context given that, in conjunction with Turkey, it accounts for the majority of persons serving life sentences. The article focuses on pertinent ECHR provisions and associated ECtHR jurisprudence, with perspectives from the United Kingdom on their implementation as a case study. While key themes are disinterred from the ECtHR’s jurisprudence that will presumably inform sentence review procedures in European states, a broader analysis of release systems operative in a European context is beyond the scope of the article.

A Lagrangian Tool for Simulating the Transport of Chemical Pollutants in the Arabian/Persian Gulf

A rapid-response Lagrangian model for simulating the transport of a chemical pollutant in the Arabian/Persian Guls is described. The model is well suited to provide a fast response after an emergency due to an accident or a deliberate spill. Baroclinic circulation was obtained from HYCOM ocean model and tides were calculated using a barotropic model. The interactions of pollutants with sediments (uptake/release processes) were described using a dynamic approach based on kinetic transfer coefficients and a stochastic numerical method. Some examples of model applications are shown.

The Influence of Omeprazole on the Dissolution Processes of pH-Dependent Magnetic Tablets Assessed by Pharmacomagnetography

Pharmacomagnetography involves the simultaneous assessment of solid dosage forms (SDFs) in the human gastrointestinal (GI) tract and the drug plasmatic concentration, using a biomagnetic technique and pharmacokinetics analysis. This multi-instrumental approach helps the evaluation, as GI variables can interfere with the drug delivery processes. This study aimed to employ pharmacomagnetography to evaluate the influence of omeprazole on the drug release and absorption of metronidazole administered orally in magnetic-coated tablets. Magnetic-coated tablets, coated with Eudragit® E-100 (E100) and containing 100 mg of metronidazole, were produced. For the in vivo experiments, 12 volunteers participated in the two phases of the study (placebo and omeprazole) on different days to assess the bioavailability of metronidazole. The results indicated a shift as the pH of the solution increased and a delay in the dissolution of metronidazole, showing that the pH increase interferes with the release processes of tablets coated with E100. Our study reinforced the advantages of pharmacomagnetography as a tool to perform a multi-instrumental correlation analysis of the disintegration process and the bioavailability of drugs.

Investigating exospheric Na distributions at different spatial scales to disentangle between single and double peaked global patterns

<p>Since mid ‘80s the Na exosphere of Mercury has been investigated by means of both ground-based observations and spacecraft measurements, showing a wide range of variability from tens of minutes up to seasonal variations along the planetary orbit. It has been shown that the most common Na distribution is characterized by a high latitude double peak probably related to solar wind ion precipitation through the polar cusps. However, the existence of a single peaked equatorial Na emission has been frequently observed too. Generally, it is not straightforward to recognize the contributions due to different surface release processes that produces the observed Na exospheric global image.</p> <p>Here we apply the Multivariate Empirical Mode Decomposition (MEMD) to a dataset of images of the exospheric Na emission collected by the THEMIS ground-based telescope with the goal to disentangle the different contributions operating at different scales that are expected to be responsible of the occurrence of single vs. double peaked emissions or exospheric asymmetries. In particular, we found the existence of a wide range of scales characterizing both type of spatial patterns, ranging from small scales (less than 0.5 Mercury radii) up to large scales (about 1-2 Mercury radii). These scale-dependent patterns can be linked to different source mechanisms as the variability of solar wind magnetic field, different surface release mechanisms (thermal desorption, photon-stimulated desorption, micrometeoroid impact vaporization and ion-sputtering), as well as, to the whole Na exosphere surrounding the Hermean environment. Our conclusions are double checked by applying the MEMD both on Na exospheric measurements and on simulations of the Na exosphere as created by the different source mechanisms. The positive results show the great potential of the MEMD technique to study the complex environment of planetary exospheres and recognize the different components/processes that create it.</p>

Public finance management and data availability for nutrition financing in India

For investments to translate into improved public service delivery, having a strong public finance management (PFM) system that lays out the rules, institutions and processes by which public funds are managed is critical. To enable a better understanding of the nutrition financial landscape, this paper seeks to determine whether the current PFM system in India allows for capturing required nutrition data. It does this by mapping the availability and comparability of data for a set of key nutrition-specific interventions through the budget cycle: from budget formulation, to execution, and finally, evaluation. The study finds significant gaps in data availability including absence of financial data by level of governance, geography and intervention components. These challenges relate to gaps in PFM design in India from weak planning processes, line-item budgeting, unavailability of time costs, inefficient fund release processes, difficulties in estimating target populations and the lack of output costing. These gaps in the PFM system and consequent data issues have several implications which may lead to strained delivery. This in turn impacts quality and the possibility of course correction. Some of these challenges can be overcome by ensuring planning processes are enforced, expanding existing data systems, making more data available in the public domain, using existing research better and using assumptions carefully to cover data gaps.