yes / Drawing from the Non-Lethal Weapons Database this report summarises and reviews: non-lethal technology research and development issues, themes and trends developments in non-lethal military organisation and co-ordination capacity recent developments in selected non-lethal technologies commercial opportunities and applications of non-lethal technology ethical and social implications of non-lethal technolgy non-lethal human bioeffect research

yes / This is the second in a series of Occasional Papers published by the Bradford Non-Lethal Weapons Research Project. It addresses the development of anti-personnel ¿non-lethal¿1 weapons from 1990 to 1999 and follows on from Occasional Paper No.1: The Early History of "Non-Lethal" Weapons. 2 Concentrating on events in the United States, 3 this paper explores the expansion of police and military interest in these weapons with a focus on the research and development activities conducted by the Department of Justice and the Department of Defense. Related developments in international law are also discussed. ¿Anti-materiel¿ weapons, proposed for use against vehicles, electronic equipment, or other objects, are beyond the scope of this research. This paper does not detail the debates over ¿non-lethal¿ weapons that intensified during this period and were marked by an increase in the corresponding literature. Nevertheless this is the background against which the research and development described here occurred. Fidler has observed that, broadly speaking, this debate was polarised with advocates on one side and sceptics on the other.4 The advocates5 emphasised what they viewed as the revolutionary or transformational promise of these weapon systems and their potential to promote the humane use of force. The sceptics,6 on the other hand, building on concerns first expressed in the 1970¿s,7 cautioned against affording any weapons special status and highlighted the need for critical legal, technological and ethical assessment. Fidler has summarised a central theme of this enduring debate: Nothing epitomized the distance separating advocates and sceptics better than disagreements about the moniker ¿non-lethal weapons¿. For proponents, this description encapsulated the technological and ethical distinctiveness of these weapons. For sceptics, the moniker was misleading because it gave moral status to weapons simply by virtue of their technology and not on the basis of legal and ethical analysis of why, how and where they are used.8

The present study expands the range of theoretical perspectives and empirical questions that have occupied the recent literature on homicide and suicide. The study examines county-level predictors for homicide and suicide in all sixty-seven counties in Florida. The current examination identifies which county-level variables are most closely related to each other, which variables explain the greatest amount of differences within the Florida counties, as well as which variables are most significantly correlated with the homicide and sucide rate by county. Additionally, the variables included in the present research are driven by the theorectical perspectives of social disorganization and anomie/strain theory. Using principal components regression the present study found that Income, Education, and Poverty, Infant Mortality, and Domestic Violence were predictors of homicide. Using the same components to explore the suicide rate, the research found that Age and Divorce were positively associated with suicide. In contrast to homicide, infant mortality rates were negatively associated with suicide rate in Florida counties.

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento CientÃfico e TecnolÃgico / O mamoeiro (Carica papaya) à uma importante fruteira tropical cuja produÃÃo vem crescendo no Nordeste do Brasil. Amarelo letal à uma molÃstia do mamoeiro ocasionada pelo Papaya lethal yellowing virus (PLYV) que ocorrer somente Nordeste. Os sintomas ocasionados pelo PLYV tÃm inÃcio com um amarelecimento progressivo das folhas do no terÃo superior da copa, as quais murcham e morrem. Manchas circulares, inicialmente esverdeadas aparecem nos frutos as quais se tornam amareladas quando os frutos amadurecem. O PLYV possui partÃculas isomÃtricas com 30 nm de diÃmetros, genoma do tipo ssRNA de ac. 1,6 x 106 Da, com a capa protÃica composta de uma Ãnica proteÃna de ac. 35 Da. Embora nÃo exista confirmaÃÃo da existÃncia de um vetor biolÃgico para o vÃrus, o mesmo està se disseminando rapidamente no Nordeste brasileiro, possivelmente por mudas de plantas infetadas e ferramentas contaminadas. O vÃrus pode ser transmitido atravÃs do solo, Ãgua de irrigaÃÃo, ferramentas agrÃcolas e mÃos contaminadas. A presente pesquisa teve como objetivos: avaliar a possibilidade do vÃrus ser transmitido por sementes e por afÃdeos; avaliar a possibilidade do PLYV infetar outras espÃcies da famÃlia Caricaceae; avaliar o efeito da solarizaÃÃo na inativaÃÃo do vÃrus em restos de cultura e analisar a variabilidade molecular e biolÃgica de isolados de PLYV. Nos ensaios de transmissÃo do vÃrus por afÃdeos, o mesmo nÃo foi transmitido por Aphis craccivora e A. gossypii de forma persistente nem de forma nÃo persistente. Nos experimentos de transmissÃo por sementes, o vÃrus nÃo foi detectado por ELISA indireto em 1.680 plÃntulas originadas de sementes de frutos infetados com o PLYV. O PLYV infetou as espÃcies de Jacaratia heterophila, J. spinosa, Vasconcella quercifolia e V. monoica, confirmando que sua gama de hospedeiras estÃ, provavelmente, restrita à famÃlia Caricaceae. O PLYV foi inativado em folhas e raÃzes de plantas infetadas e erradicadas, quando submetidas à solarizaÃÃo, por um perÃodo de 12 dias, enquanto que permaneceu ativo em folhas e raÃzes de plantas infetadas e erradicadas, mantidas sem solarizaÃÃo, atà um perÃodo de 32 dias. O uso de extrato de jucazeiro (Caesalpinia ferrea) inativou o PLYV quando misturado ao extrato de plantas infetadas, porÃm nÃo apresentou nenhum efeito no processo de infecÃÃo em plantas jà inoculadas com PLYV e pulverizadas com extrato de jucazeiro e em plantas pulverizadas e em seguida inoculadas. Os isolados de PLYV obtidos de diferentes regiÃes do estado do CearÃ: PLYVFC (Fortaleza-Centro), PLYVFQ (Fortaleza â Edson Queiroz), PLYVH (Horizonte), PLYVLN (Limoeiro do Norte), PLYVM (Marco), PLYVMD (Marco â DIBAU), PLYVP (Paraipaba), PLYVQ (QuixerÃ) e PLYVBE (Boa EsperanÃa- QuixerÃ) apresentaram baixa variabilidade molecular, quando comparados atravÃs das seqÃÃncias nucleotÃdicas de parte dos genes RpRd/CP. Quando comparado com membros dos gÃneros Sobemovirus e do Tombusvirus, o PLYV apresentou maior similaridade com vÃrus do gÃnero Sobemovirus / Papaya (Carica papaya) is an important tropical fruit crop which production is increasing in irrigated areas of Northeast of Brazil. Lethal yellowing is a papaya disease caused by Papaya lethal yellowing virus (PLYV) that occurs only in the Northeast of Brazil. The virus symptoms begin with a progressive leaf yellowing in the third superior part of the plant canopy, which wilt and finally die. Greenish circular spots also appear on the fruits which turn yellowish when the fruits are ripping. The PLYV has isometric particles with ac. 30 nm in diameter, genomic ssRNA of ac. 1.6 x 106 Da and a coat protein composed of a single component of ac. 35 Da. Although no biological vector has been confirmed for the virus, it is spreading every year in the Northeast of Brazil, probably by infected young plants and contaminated tools. The virus can be transmitted through the soil, irrigated water, agriculture tools and contaminated hands. The present research had the following objectives: evaluate the possibility of the virus to be transmitted by seeds and aphids; evaluate its possibility to infect other plant species from the family Caricaceae; evaluate the effects of soilarization in the virus infectivity and analyze the molecular and biological variability among the virus isolates. In the aphid transmission studies, the virus was not transmitted by Aphis craccivora neither by A. gossypii in persistent and non-persistent manners. In the seed transmission experiments, the virus was not detected by indirect ELISA in a total of 1,680 seedlings originated from PLYV infect fruits. The PLYV infected the plant species Jacaratia heterophila, J. spinosa, Vasconcella quercifolia and V. monoica, confirming that its host range is probably restricted to Caricaceae species. The virus was inactivated in leaves and roots eradicated from infected plants when they were submitted to a solarization for a period of 12 days, but maintained its infectivity when the leaves and the roots were maintained without solarization at natural conditions for a period of 32 days. The use of extract from fruits of Caesalpinia ferrea inactivated PLYV when it was mixed with extract from infected plants, although the C. ferrea extract did not interfered with the virus infection when it was sprayed on the plant leaves before or after the virus inoculation. The PLYV obtained from different regions from the State of CearÃ: PLYVFC (Fortaleza-Centro), PLYVFQ (Fortaleza â Edson Queiroz), PLYVH (Horizonte), PLYVLN (Limoeiro do Norte), PLYVM (Marco), PLYVMD (Marco â DIBAU), PLYVP (Paraipaba), PLYVQ (QuixerÃ) and PLYVBE (Boa EsperanÃa- QuixerÃ) showed low molecular variability when compared by its nucleotide sequences involving part of the genes RpRd/CP. When compared with members from the genera Sobemovirus and Tombusvirus, the PLYV showed more similarity with members from the genus Sobemovirus.

yes / The NLW database illustrates the extensive and eclectic literature regarding NLWs which covers the last few decades. It currently contains over 250 entries. It is important to have access not only to the more recent material, but also to earlier sources since many of the general debates and controversies have already been rehearsed, and lessons learnt from them are still relevant today. Yet, it is also vital to follow new developments of NLWs closely because rapidly changing technology is producing weapons whose implications for integration into military and civil police forces have yet to be clearly defined and understood. Of particular interest are not only NLW applications for war fighting, but opportunities for deployment in peace enforcement and peace keeping missions. These technologies span many bases including: psycho-chemicals; unmanned weapons platforms and delivery systems; biogenetics; acoustic and microwave weapons; biological and chemical weapons; laser systems; kinetic energy ballistics; dual purpose (lethal/non-lethal) weapons; and, sprays and foams which inhibit movement. The database will keep up to date on these developments and future reports will highlight new issues and debates surrounding them. With these rapid technological advances come a series of associated dangers and concerns including: the ethics of use; implications for weapons control and disarmament treaties; military doctrine; public accountability and guidelines; dangers of misuse and proliferation; and, research and development strategies. Using the database, and drawing from military and non-military sources, this report will select the main current issues and debates within the non-lethal community. Bearing in mind that many operations undertaken by military forces are now more akin to policing actions (such as peace support operations) there are lessons to be learnt by military units from civil police experience. There still remains a tension between perceived benign and malign intent both in NLW operational use and non-lethal research and development.

Police officers continue to sustain injuries during close proximity encounters with non-compliant and combative suspects. The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to examine whether the use of less-lethal instruments, such as conducted energy devices, oleoresin capsicum, impact batons, and hands/feet defensive tactic reduced police officer injury during confrontations with uncooperative suspects at a medium-sized police department in a southern state. Fichtelberg's democratic policing was used as the theoretical framework for this study. Data were acquired from Suspect Resistant Reports (n = 409) written by police officers over a 10-year period (1/05 - 12/14). The dependent variable was police officer injury and the categorically ranked independent variable was the less-lethal instrument. A significant association was found between officer injuries and less-lethal instruments using chi-square analysis (p

KRAS is a gene that plays a very important role in the initiation and development of several types of cancer. In particular, 90% of human pancreatic cancers are due to KRAS mutations. KRAS is difficult to target directly and a promising therapeutic path is its indirect inactivation by targeting one of its Synthetic Lethal Partners (SLPs). A gene G is a Synthetic Lethal Partner of KRAS if the simultaneous perturbation of KRAS and G leads to cell death. In the past, efforts to identify KRAS SLPs with high-throughput RNAi screens have been performed. These studies have reported only few top-ranked SLPs. To our knowledge, these screens have never been considered in combination for further examination. This thesis employs integrative analysis of the published screens, utilizing additional, independent data aiming at the detection of more robust therapeutic targets. To this aim, RankSLP, a novel statistical analysis approach was implemented, which for the first time i) consistently integrates existing KRAS-specific RNAi screens, ii) consistently integrates and normalizes the results of various ranking methods, iii) evaluates its findings with the use of external data and iv) explores the effects of random data inclusion. This analysis was able to predict novel SLPs of KRAS and confirm some of the existing ones.

>Magister Scientiae - MSc / Human-wildlife conflict is an ongoing issue worldwide. Within South Africa, human-carnivore conflict (HCC) as a result of carnivore depredation on small-livestock causes large-scale losses, and promotes the use of predator management tools by farmers. Despite being one of the major offenders involved in HCC, caracals, and their ecology in particular, are understudied. This is mainly due to high levels of persecution, coupled with their elusive nature. Within the Karoo region of South Africa, pastoralists make use of large-scale lethal predator controls in an attempt to remove the offenders, or non-lethal predator controls to protect livestock and deter predators. However, the effects of these various predator control techniques on caracal ecology have not been widely tested. Therefore, the aims of this thesis were, firstly, to assess caracal diet on lethal and non-lethal treatment farms in the Karoo; secondly, to investigate the drivers of caracal habitat selection on a non-lethal farm in the Karoo; and finally, to evaluate caracal activity patterns on the non-lethal farm. To do this, I made use of two non-invasive techniques (i.e. scat analysis and camera trapping). Caracals appeared to favour natural prey across all sites, with livestock remains only found in scats collected at the lethal treatment farm. Caracals had the broadest dietary breadth on the non-lethal treatment site, and the narrowest on the lethal treatment site. The main components of caracal diet included small mammals, lagomorphs, rock hyraxes (Procavia capensis), wild ungulates and arthropods. Caracal habitat selection was explained by resource dispersion and environmental features Interestingly, the presence of livestock was not a major consideration in caracal habitat selection. Caracals were mainly nocturnal but became increasingly crepuscular during winter. In addition, caracal activity overlapped significantly with black-backed jackals (Canis mesomelas), lagomorphs and common duikers (Sylvicapra grimmia). Caracals showed plasticity in their activity patterns based on seasonal temperature fluctuations, and partially human avoidance. This study contributes to understanding how caracal ecology differs on differently managed livestock farms. Throughout this study, the importance of both a natural prey base, as well as natural lands to caracal survival have been revealed. These findings can contribute to caracal conservation in HCC areas.

KRAS is a gene that plays a very important role in the initiation and development of several types of cancer. In particular, 90% of human pancreatic cancers are due to KRAS mutations. KRAS is difficult to target directly and a promising therapeutic path is its indirect inactivation by targeting one of its Synthetic Lethal Partners (SLPs). A gene G is a Synthetic Lethal Partner of KRAS if the simultaneous perturbation of KRAS and G leads to cell death. In the past, efforts to identify KRAS SLPs with high-throughput RNAi screens have been performed. These studies have reported only few top-ranked SLPs. To our knowledge, these screens have never been considered in combination for further examination. This thesis employs integrative analysis of the published screens, utilizing additional, independent data aiming at the detection of more robust therapeutic targets. To this aim, RankSLP, a novel statistical analysis approach was implemented, which for the first time i) consistently integrates existing KRAS-specific RNAi screens, ii) consistently integrates and normalizes the results of various ranking methods, iii) evaluates its findings with the use of external data and iv) explores the effects of random data inclusion. This analysis was able to predict novel SLPs of KRAS and confirm some of the existing ones.

No description available.