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The current study utilized the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) data to investigate the relationship between sexual orientation and cognitive health of the aging population. Cognitive flexibility and verbal fluency were examined as outcome variables in the study. A total of 45,993 respondents were included in the analyses. Each model had social support or social participation as a mediator. A series of mediation analysis, stratified by gender, revealed that aging gay men performed better in cognitive tasks related to cognitive flexibility when compared to their heterosexual counterparts. The results also indicated that social support is a protective factor for cognitive health in aging lesbian women. This study provides an opportunity to consider how clinical and social services can strategize to build inclusive environments for the aging sexual minority population.

Cognitive Reserve (CR) refers to the preservation of cognitive function in the face of age- or disease-related neuroanatomical decline. While bilingualism has been shown to contribute to CR, the extent to which, and what particular aspect of, second language experience contributes to CR are debated, and the underlying neural mechanism(s) unknown. Intrinsic functional connectivity reflects experience-dependent neuroplasticity that occurs across timescales ranging from minutes to decades, and may be a neural mechanism underlying CR. To test this hypothesis, we used voxel-based morphometry and resting-state functional connectivity analyses of MRI data to compare structural and functional brain integrity between monolingual and bilingual older adults, matched on cognitive performance, and across levels of second language proficiency measured as a continuous variable. Bilingualism, and degree of second language proficiency specifically, were associated with lower gray matter integrity in a hub of the default mode network – a region that is particularly vulnerable to decline in aging and dementia – but preserved intrinsic functional network organization. Bilingualism moderated the association between neuroanatomical differences and cognitive decline, such that lower gray matter integrity was associated with lower executive function in monolinguals, but not bilinguals. Intrinsic functional network integrity predicted executive function when controlling for group differences in gray matter integrity and language status. Our findings confirm that lifelong bilingualism is a CR factor, as bilingual older adults performed just as well as their monolingual peers on tasks of executive function, despite showing signs of more advanced neuroanatomical aging, and that this is a consequence of preserved intrinsic functional network organization.

We have generated an induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) line KCLi002-A (iOP107) from a female donor, heterozygous for the loss-of-function mutation p.R2447X in the filaggrin gene (FLG). Epidermal keratinocytes were reprogrammed using non-integrating Sendai virus vectors. The entire process of derivation and expansion of iPSCs were performed under xeno-free culture conditions. Characterization of KCLi002-A line included molecular karyotyping, mutation screening using restriction enzyme digestion Sanger sequencing and next generation sequencing (NGS), whereas pluripotency and differentiation potential were confirmed by expression of associated markers in vitro and in vivo teratoma assay.

Citizens and companies globalize: they are increasingly making use of their rights to free movement, to free settlement, to offer services and goods, to realize financial transactions, etc. Enforcement systems, including the criminal justice system, have to follow suit. They are obliged to go abroad to gather evidence, for the detention and extradition or surrender of suspects, to confiscate assets, to deal with conflicts of jurisdiction and the choice of allocating a criminal investigation and adjudication. Globalizing criminal justice systems increases the risk of double prosecution and/or double punishment. Do (legal) persons have the (fundamental) right not to be prosecuted or punished twice for the same facts in a globalizing and integrating world. Are they protected against these forms of double jeopardy in settings of transnational criminal justice, such as for instance in the EU area of freedom, security and justice? Does the ne bis in idem principle have a transnational reach? If so, what does this mean and what are the obstacles and exceptions thereto? In posing these questions, this article asks whether a (legal) person can derive a right to transnational protection in the area of freedom, security and justice from the different sources of ne bis in idem obligations in domestic law, in public international law (human rights law and mutual legal assistance) and in EU law. By analysing these sources and the case law thereon, I come to the conclusion that (legal) persons are unprotected against transnational double jeopardy, with the exception of the transnational ne bis in idem in the EU area of freedom, security and justice. However, even in the case of the latter exceptions, derogations, reservations and draw back interpretations based on national sovereignty undermine the rationale and scope of a real transnational ne bis in idem principle in a common space of transnational criminal justice.

Le but du rapport général est de mener une analyse comparative des rapports nationaux en vue de présenter les processus de transformation des systèmes de justice pénale internes, en particulier du procès pénal, étant donné que des mesures procédurales spéciales sont introduites pour appréhender le terrorisme et la criminalité organisée, et de voir si cela a conduit les pays à se départir de leur propres règles fondamentales, procédures, principes et standards des droits de l’homme applicables. Partant de la prémisse qu’un système intégré de droit pénal a trois dimensions – la protection des individus (la dimension de bouclier), la mise à disposition d’instruments d’application de la loi (la dimension d’épée) et les contrôles et équilibres c’est-à-dire la séparation des pouvoirs (la dimension constitutionnelle) – le rapport fournit un aperçu d’ensemble des transformations corrélées, surtout dans la procédure d’enquête préliminaire, qui les ont affectées toutes les trois dans trois vagues de « guerre » (contre la drogue, le crime organisé et le terrorisme). Dans beaucoup de pays, les garanties procédurales et les principes qui protègent contre la violation du droit à un procès équitable sont considérés comme un fardeau du point de vue de l’efficacité de l’application de la loi à la criminalité grave. Ces réformes se sont traduites par une claire extension de l’état répressif et un estompement des distinctions classiques, et ne favorisent pas la primauté du droit. La focalisation sur la sécurité publique et les investigations contraignantes préventives sapent le système de justice pénale. Avec l’usage croissant du système de justice criminelle comme instrument de régulation du présent et/ou de l’avenir plutôt que de sanction d’un comportement passé, et un procès pénal dans lequel l’enquête préliminaire ne concerne pas la recherche de la vérité relative au crime commis mais concerne la construction et la déconstruction de la dangerosité sociale, on peut dire que les intérêts de la sécurité nationale prévalent sur la justice et menacent le procès équitable et la protection des droits de l’homme – malgré que les principes généraux de procédure pénale semblent être devenus plus importants dans les pays pour lesquels on dispose d’un rapport, même quand il s’agit de criminalité organisée et de terrorisme, et sont considérés comme conformes aux standards constitutionnels et des droits de l’homme.

El objetivo del informe general es realizar un análisis comparativo de los informes nacionales para evidenciar los procesos de transformación de los sistemas nacionales de justicia penal, en particular del proceso penal, en el que se han introducido medidas procesales especiales para hacer frente al terrorismo y al crimen organizado, y determinar si esto ha llevado a los países a apartarse de sus propias normas fundamentales, procedimientos, principios y estándares de derechos humanos aplicables. Partiendo de la premisa de que el sistema integrado de derecho penal tiene tres dimensiones – la protección de las personas (la dimensión de escudo), la disposición de instrumentos de aplicación de la ley (la dimensión de la espada) y de pesos y contrapesos / trias politica (la dimensión constitucional) – el informe ofrece un panorama general de las transformaciones relacionadas entre sí, principalmente en la fase previa al juicio, que han afectado a tales dimensiones como consecuencia de tres oleadas de ‘guerras’ (contra las drogas, el crimen organizado y el terrorismo). En muchos países, las garantías procesales y los principios que protegen frente a violaciones del derecho a un juicio justo son considerados una carga para la eficacia de la persecución de los delitos graves. Estas reformas han dado lugar a una clara expansión del estado punitivo y a que queden difuminadas las distinciones clásicas, y no favorecen al estado de derecho. El actuar centrado en la seguridad pública y en la investigación coactiva preventiva socava el sistema de justicia penal. Con un sistema de justicia penal utilizado crecientemente como instrumento para regular el presente y/o el futuro en lugar de para castigar el comportamiento pasado, y un proceso penal en el que la investigación previa al juicio no se dirige a conocer la verdad en relación con el delito cometido, sino a la construcción y de-construcción de la peligrosidad social, los intereses de la seguridad nacional puede decirse que prevalecen sobre la justicia y pueden constituir una amenaza para el debido proceso y la protección de los derechos humanos – a pesar de que los principios generales del procedimiento penal parecen haber adquirido mayor importancia en los países que presentaron informes, también cuando se trata del crimen organizado y el terrorismo, y están diseñados para ajustarse a la Constitución y las normas de derechos humanos.

The aim of the general report is to conduct a comparative analysis of the national reports in order to trace transformation processes in domestic criminal justice systems, in particular criminal process, as special procedural measures are introduced to deal with terrorism and organised crime, and to map whether this has led countries to depart from their own fundamental rules, procedures, principles and applicable human rights standards. Starting from the premise that the integrated system of criminal law has three dimensions – the protection of individuals (the shield dimension), the provision of instruments of law enforcement (the sword dimension), and of checks and balances/trias politica (the constitutional dimension) – the report provides a comprehensive overview of interrelated transformations, mostly in the pre-trial setting, that have affected all three in three waves of ‘war’ (on drugs, organised crime and terrorism). In many countries, procedural guarantees and principles that protect against the infringement of fair trial rights are considered a burden to the efficiency of serious crime enforcement. These reforms have resulted in a clear expansion of the punitive state and a blurring of classic distinctions, and do not favour the rule of law. The focus on public security and preventive coercive investigation undermines the criminal justice system. With the criminal justice system increasingly used as an instrument to regulate the present and/or the future rather than to punish past behaviour, and a criminal process in which pre-trial investigation is not about truth-finding related to committed crime, but about the construction and de-construction of social dangerousness, the interests of national security may be said to be prevailing over justice and to be threatening due process and the protection of human rights – notwithstanding that general principles of criminal procedure seem to have become more important in the reporting countries, also where organized crime and terrorism are concerned, and are designed to conform with constitutional and human rights standards.

The preservation of tardigrade eggs and exuviae in Antarctic lake sediments provided an opportunity to assess post-glacial colonisation and Holocene tardigrade dynamics on the southern continent. Tardigrade eggs were recovered from five lakes, two from the maritime Antarctic and three from continental Antarctica. Eggs were identified from the following species: Dactylobiotus cf. ambiguus, Macrobiotus furciger, Macrobiotus blocki, Minibiotus weinerorum and Acutuncus antarcticus. Other, unornamented eggs were also observed. The preservation of some of these eggs in exuviae allowed identification to at least genus. Significant variations were observed in egg abundance within the sediment of each lake, and in one lake a species (Dactylobiotus cf. ambiguus) became locally extinct, probably as the result of penguin-associated eutrophication. Tardigrades generally did not become abundant for a considerable period after the lakes’ formation. The presence of an in-part endemic fauna is consistent with slow colonisation from Antarctic sources rather than wind transport from extra-continental sites. Tardigrade eggs appear to be abundant in high-latitude lake sediments, and greater use could be made of these records when evaluating tardigrade dynamics during the Holocene.