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38671 results in Cambridge Textbooks

Page 1252 of 1934

  • 3 - Integrated Complex Functions with Dynamic Feedback

  • from Part I - Principles of complex functions in robust machines
  • Michael Sheetz, Columbia University, New York, Hanry Yu, National University of Singapore
  • Book:
    The Cell as a Machine
    Published online:
    06 August 2018
    Print publication:
    11 January 2018, pp 50-68

  • Summary

    In previous chapters, we described the cell as a robust machine that carries out complex functions through the activity of distinct functional modules. At the next level, it is important to understand how the cell accomplishes these complex functions by coordinating the activity of multiple functional modules. Clathrindependent endocytosis and plasma membrane protein synthesis are just two complex functions that result from an integrated sequence of events. For a good understanding of functions, we suggest that they should be dissected at the nanometer (protein–protein complex) level. The production of almost anything in the macroscopic world needs a plan that outlines the number of steps in its production, as well as a decision tree to provide for modifications and/or quality control. This will ensure that the final product meets all required standards. In the production of cars or computers, components are added in a series of steps that often occur in a prescribed order and depend upon the satisfactory completion of each step before subsequent steps can commence. Similarly, complex functions in cells, including clathrin-dependent endocytosis and plasma membrane protein synthesis, all occur in a series of often repetitive steps that depend upon the sequential completion of prior steps. This results in a classical ‘if/then’ decision tree that will ensure that the complex function is completed properly. In some cases, there are multiple complex functions that the cell can choose depending upon the conditions (e.g. if a cell encounters another cell, it will change its behavior). For us to understand any given integrated complex function, we need to define the steps (which are typically driven by distinct functional modules) and the critical components needed to complete the task.

    To understand the multiple levels of complex functions, it is useful here to consider an easily applicable example, again using cars. To raise or lower a car window, several machine elements come into play. Only a basic understanding of the mechanism is required to raise and lower the window. However, to be able to repair a car window, the mechanism must be understood in much greater detail. Here, a complete list of the parts, right down to the screws that hold them in place, may be required.

  • 1 - International Dispute Settlement in Perspective

  • from PART I - FOUNDATION OF INTERNATIONAL DISPUTE SETTLEMENT
  • Yoshifumi Tanaka, University of Copenhagen
  • Book:
    The Peaceful Settlement of International Disputes
    Published online:
    21 June 2018
    Print publication:
    11 January 2018, pp 3-27

  • Summary

    Main Issues

    The settlement of disputes is one of the essential functions of law and this is equally true of international law. Indeed, the peaceful settlement of international disputes is a prerequisite to the maintenance of international peace and security. Furthermore, the establishment of mechanisms for settling international disputes is needed to secure the effectiveness of the international legal system. Peaceful settlement of international disputes thus occupies a central place within international law. As we shall discuss in this book, international law provides a range of means of international dispute settlement. They include negotiation, good offices, mediation, inquiry (fact-finding), conciliation, dispute settlement through international organisations, arbitration and judicial settlement. As a preliminary consideration, this chapter will discuss basic concepts and issues concerning peaceful settlement of international disputes in international law. The principal focus will be on the following issues:

  • (i) What is the obligation of peaceful settlement of international disputes?

  • (ii) What are international disputes in international law?

  • (iii) What is the principle of free choice of means?

  • (iv) What is the distinction between static and dynamic disputes?

  • (v) Should means of international dispute settlement differ according to the types of disputes?

    • INTRODUCTION

    Whilst international disputes stem from a variety of factors, such as strategic, political, economic, cultural and religious factors, two elements in particular merit highlighting from the viewpoint of international law.

    The first noteworthy element concerns the interpretation and application of rules of international law. In the municipal legal system, basic functions of law – that is, legislative, executive and judicial functions – are essentially monopolised by the State authority. In this sense, the municipal legal system can be regarded as a centralised legal system. Under this system, a dispute with regard to the interpretation and application of law is to be settled eventually by municipal courts. Jurisdiction of the municipal courts is obligatory in the sense that it does not rely on the consent of the parties of the litigation, and the decisions of the courts are enforced by the State authority. Thus the uniform interpretation and application of municipal law can be secured in the municipal legal system. In contrast, international law is considered as a decentralised legal system since there is no centralised authority which exercises legislative, executive and judicial functions.

  • 2 - Negotiation, Good Offices and Mediation

  • from PART I - FOUNDATION OF INTERNATIONAL DISPUTE SETTLEMENT
  • Yoshifumi Tanaka, University of Copenhagen
  • Book:
    The Peaceful Settlement of International Disputes
    Published online:
    21 June 2018
    Print publication:
    11 January 2018, pp 28-51

  • Summary

    Main Issues

    Given that the majority of disputes are resolved through negotiation in practice, negotiation can be considered as the fundamental means for settling international disputes. Hence it seems appropriate to commence our examination with negotiation. Good offices and mediation may be said to be an adjunct to negotiation since these means aim to facilitate dispute settlement through negotiation between the parties in dispute. Accordingly, it is necessary to examine these means of dispute settlement in connection with negotiation. In this regard, it is important to note that negotiation and legal means of international dispute settlement, namely international adjudication, are not mutually exclusive but complementary. Thus particular attention must be paid to interaction between negotiation and international adjudication. This chapter will focus particularly on the following issues:

  • (i) Why should negotiation be examined in international law?

  • (ii) What are the principal features and functions of negotiation in the field of international dispute settlement?

  • (iii) What is the interrelationship between negotiation and international adjudication?

  • (iv) If an international dispute cannot be settled through negotiation, what is the next step to be taken?

  • (v) What is the role of good offices and mediation and what are their limitations?

    • INTRODUCTION

    It is generally recognised that the majority of international disputes are settled by negotiations. In some cases, negotiations may be the only and final means of settling international disputes. Therefore, it would be no exaggeration to say that negotiation is the fundamental means of international dispute settlement. In reality, however, it is not infrequent that direct negotiation encounters serious difficulties or even deadlock due to the adamant attitude of parties in dispute. In this case, involvement of a third party may be needed with a view to making concessions or breaking stalemate in negotiations.

    The degree of involvement of the third party varies on a case-by-case basis. Where the involvement of the third party is limited to providing an additional channel of communication, such an intermediary is considered to be offering ‘good offices’. Where a third party takes a more active role by making proposals, such an act is called ‘mediation’. Good offices can be said to be a modest mode of assistance by a third party, whilst mediation is an active mode of intervention by the third party.

  • Appendix C - The Elements

  • Edited by David A. Rothery, The Open University, Milton Keynes, Neil McBride, The Open University, Milton Keynes, Iain Gilmour, The Open University, Milton Keynes
  • Open University
  • Book:
    An Introduction to the Solar System
    Published online:
    11 May 2019
    Print publication:
    11 January 2018, pp 397-400

  • Summary

    The relative atomic mass, AT, is the average mass of the atoms of the element as it occurs on Earth. It is thus an average over all the isotopes of the element. The scale is fixed by giving the carbon isotope ll C a relative atomic mass of 12.0. By convention, the Solar System abundance is normalized to 1012 atoms of hydrogen, whereas the CI chondrite abundance is normalized to 106 atoms of silicon. To directly compare chondrite abundance to Solar System abundance (by number), you would multiply chondrite abundance by 35.8.

  • 14 - Transcribing the Right Information and Packaging for Delivery

  • from Part II - Design and operation of complex functions
  • Michael Sheetz, Columbia University, New York, Hanry Yu, National University of Singapore
  • Book:
    The Cell as a Machine
    Published online:
    06 August 2018
    Print publication:
    11 January 2018, pp 308-323

  • Summary

    The production of RNA (mRNA, rRNA, miRNA, etc.) occurs through a process known as transcription. This process occurs in a well-defined sequence, starting with the selection of one or two sites on the DNA that encode for the appropriate RNA. A polymerase complex will then assemble, and begin translocating along the DNA, producing the RNA as it moves. Finally, the RNA must be processed and transported out of the nucleus and processing is different for mRNA versus the other types. In differentiated mammalian cells, transcription initiation sites are partially determined by the silencing of major portions of the chromatin through post-translational modifications. In addition, there are tissue-specific aspects of mRNA production that include alternative splicing of the mRNA, and micro-RNAs, which decrease the lifetime of mRNA subsets. There has been considerable interest in how the cell transcribes the right DNA, processes and then packages the transcript for transport to the cytoplasm. To fully understand the primary signals that govern gene expression, the expression levels of various transcription factors must be defined, and more comprehensive data on the changes in transcription patterns attained. For sufficient specificity, and regulation of the transcription process, we would expect several factors to interact with the DNA or transcription machinery. Thus, the definition of the site of transcription is the critical aspect and the subsequent process of mRNA production and processing follows as expected.

    Steps in mRNA production and processing:

  • (A) Identify regions of the genome to be transcribed.

  • (B) Activate transcription.

  • (C) Process mRNA transcript.

  • (D) Recruit RNA binding proteins and release from transcription site.

  • (E) Diffuse to nuclear pore and move to cytoplasm.

  • (F) Move and/or diffuse to translation site.

  • (G) Degradation.

    • To introduce the topic of RNA production and processing, we will first consider how proteins are produced in cells. Cells transcribe DNA into RNA as a first step towards producing functional protein complexes. Once again, the principles of manufacturing a car are analogous in many ways to this important cellular process. In a well-run automobile factory, each car is produced from a set number of parts, each of which is incorporated in a set sequence. Highly specialized machines are required to both produce the parts and incorporate them into the final product. It would be wasteful to produce an excess of any one part, and incorporating a part out of sequence will render the car unusable, and slow down further production.

  • Chapter 8 - The Origin of the Solar System

  • Edited by David A. Rothery, The Open University, Milton Keynes, Neil McBride, The Open University, Milton Keynes, Iain Gilmour, The Open University, Milton Keynes
  • Open University
  • Book:
    An Introduction to the Solar System
    Published online:
    11 May 2019
    Print publication:
    11 January 2018, pp 289-324

  • Summary

    Introduction

    In the beginning there was a formless void of emptiness known as chaos; from this darkness emerged a black bird known as Nyx (the goddess of night). Eventually the bird laid a golden egg, out of which was born Eros, the god of love. The shell of the egg broke into pieces, one of which rose into the air and became the sky (which Eros called Uranus) and the other became the Earth (called Gaia).

    This is one version of the Greek creation myth. It considers that we started with ‘nothing’ and evolved fairly rapidly towards the environment which we experience today. In fact, this is a feature of nearly all creation myths - the Sun, the Earth, its inhabitants, and by inference, the planetary system around us, all formed soon after a divine event had acted to add purpose to the pre-existing nothingness, or chaos.

    The details of the traditional scientific view are somewhat different. The Universe was created about 14 Ga ago, in the Big Bang (the exact age is unclear although somewhere between 13.7 and 13.9 Ga is the current consensus). Clumps of material then formed into galaxies, and galaxies spawned stars. From that time until the present day, the cycle of stellar birth and death has continued remorselessly. Our own Solar System formed around 4.56 Ga ago from materials that had been cycled in and out of stars several times (see Box 8.1).

    There have been many different theories of how our Solar System formed. These can be split into theories suggesting that the processes that formed the Sun and the planets took place simultaneously in a single integrated event, versus theories suggesting that the planetary system was added to a pre-existing Sun, some time after the Sun's formation. These two approaches are referred to as monistic (single event) and dualistic (two separate events). An example of a dualistic theory of Solar System formation, would be the theory that another star passed close to the Sun, causing matter to be pulled from the Sun into a single filament, which then broke up along its length to form individual planets.

  • 3 - Inquiry and Conciliation

  • from PART I - FOUNDATION OF INTERNATIONAL DISPUTE SETTLEMENT
  • Yoshifumi Tanaka, University of Copenhagen
  • Book:
    The Peaceful Settlement of International Disputes
    Published online:
    21 June 2018
    Print publication:
    11 January 2018, pp 52-72

  • Summary

    Main Issues

    Both inquiry and conciliation constitute a diplomatic means of international dispute settlement. Inquiry aims to elucidate the issues of facts underlying an international dispute by an inquiry commission, while conciliation seeks to investigate matters of fact and relevant issues and present specific solutions to the dispute by a conciliation commission. Inquiry and conciliation are carried out by impartial and independent individuals. The outcome is not binding upon the parties in dispute. This chapter will review procedures of inquiry and conciliation focusing particularly on the following issues:

  • (i) What are the principal features of inquiry and conciliation?

  • (ii) What is the role of inquiry in peaceful settlement of international disputes and what are its limitations?

  • (iii) What are the functions of conciliation in peaceful settlement of international disputes?

  • (iv) While conciliation procedures have been enshrined in many treaties, the actual use of conciliation is very limited. Why is the practice of conciliation so limited?

    • INTRODUCTION

    International disputes often arise from disagreements with regard to some issues of fact. Where the root causes of an international dispute rest on disagreements concerning a matter of fact, an objective assessment of points of fact by a third party can significantly contribute to reducing the risks of stalemate or the escalation of the dispute. The arrangement for fact-finding is called ‘inquiry’ or ‘fact-finding’. Inquiry can be defined as a specific institutional arrangement to elucidate the issues of fact underlying international disputes by an independent and impartial commission. Like other diplomatic means of international dispute settlement, the outcome of inquiry is not binding upon the parties in dispute.

    According to the Regulations on the Procedure of International Conciliation, adopted by the Institute de droit international in 1961, conciliation is defined as:

    A method for the settlement of international disputes of any nature according to which a Commission set up by the Parties, either on a permanent or an ad hoc basis to deal with a dispute proceeds to the impartial examination of the dispute and attempts to define the terms of a settlement susceptible of being accepted by them, or of affording the Parties with a view to its settlement, such aid as they may have requested.

Page 1252 of 1934