'To save succeeding generations from the scourge of war': the role of the International Court of Justice

The International Court of Justice is the judicial arm of the United Nations. Its provenance and role in keeping international peace and security is described. Its role in settling disputes between states and giving advice to the UN organs and specialized agencies is illustrated from a series of past cases where it has contributed to the maintenance or restoration of international peace and security. Possible limitations to its contributions, arising from the need for consent to its jurisdiction, and from the process of international law are discussed, and it is concluded that decisions under international law are for realization of values. Finally, its relationship with the UN Security Council is examined.     

Effect of subtype selective nicotinic compounds on attention as assessed by the five-choice serial reaction time task

Nicotine can improve attentional functioning in humans, and a number of studies have recently demonstrated that under specific task conditions, nicotine can also improve attention in the rat. Neuronal nicotinic receptors comprise combinations of alpha(2-9) and beta(2-4) subunits, arranged to form a pentameric receptor, with the principal CNS subtypes currently believed to be alpha(4)beta(2) and a homomeric alpha(7) receptor. In the present studies, we attempted to delineate the particular nicotinic receptor subtype(s) contributing to the effects of nicotine on attention by assessing various nicotinic ligands on performance in the five-choice serial reaction time task (5-CSRTT). In rats performing below criterion (<80% correct, >20% omissions to a 1-s visual stimulus), subchronic dosing with nicotine (0.2 mg/kg sc) and the alpha(4)beta(2) agonist SIB 1765F (5 mg/kg sc) increased correct responding and decreased response latencies across the treatment week; whereas the alpha(7) agonist AR-R 17779 (20 mg/kg sc) was without effect. In subjects meeting the criterion, the competitive high affinity (including alpha(4)beta(2)) nicotine receptor antagonist DHbetaE (1-10 mg/kg sc) and the alpha(7) antagonist methyllycaconitine (MLA: 5-10 mg/kg i.p.) did not disrupt performance, whereas at the highest dose, the non-competitive antagonist mecamylamine (0.3-3 mg/kg sc) decreased accuracy and increased response latencies. These changes bore some similarities to those of pre-feeding and the non-competitive NMDA antagonist dizocilpine (0.03-0.06 mg/kg sc), suggesting that mecamylamine-induced performance disruption may relate to non-nicotinic receptor effects. In subjects chronically treated with nicotine, acute nicotine challenge (0.4 mg/kg sc) significantly increased accuracy whilst having no effect on any other performance measures. Finally, in these same nicotine pre-treated rats, the decrease in latency and increase in premature responses induced by nicotine (0.2 mg/kg sc) to a target stimulus of 150 ms was fully antagonised by DHbetaE (3 mg/kg sc) but not MLA (5 mg/kg i.p.). These results suggest that alpha(7) receptors do not play a role in any of the behavioural effects of nicotine observed in the 5-CSRTT, whereas a high affinity site, perhaps alpha(4)beta(2), is more likely involved.     

Multisensory auditory-somatosensory interactions in early cortical processing revealed by high-density electrical mapping

We investigated the time-course and scalp topography of multisensory interactions between simultaneous auditory and somatosensory stimulation in humans. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded from 64 scalp electrodes while subjects were presented with auditory-alone stimulation (1000-Hz tones), somatosensory-alone stimulation (median nerve electrical pulses), and simultaneous auditory-somatosensory (AS) combined stimulation. Interaction effects were assessed by comparing the responses to combined stimulation with the algebraic sum of responses to the constituent auditory and somatosensory stimuli when they were presented alone. Spatiotemporal analysis of ERPs and scalp current density (SCD) topographies revealed AS interaction over the central/postcentral scalp which onset at approximately 50 ms post-stimulus presentation. Both the topography and timing of these interactions are consistent with multisensory integration early in the cortical processing hierarchy, in brain regions traditionally held to be unisensory.     

Effects of diazepam and hydromorphone in triazolam-trained humans under a novel-response drug discrimination procedure

Seven healthy normal male and female volunteers (21–31 years) were trained to discriminate between the benzodiazepine triazolam (0.32 mg/70 kg, PO; e.g., drug A) and placebo (e.g., drug B) under a three-choice, instructed novel response drug discrimination procedure. Once the criterion for discrimination was met (i.e., >85% correct responding on four consecutive sessions), dose-effect curves were determined for triazolam (0.1–0.56 mg/70 kg), the benzodiazepine diazepam (10–32 mg/70 kg) and the opioid agonist hydromorphone (1–6 mg/70 kg). Subjects met the criterion for discrimination within four to six sessions. Triazolam and diazepam produced dose-related increases in triazolam-appropriate responding and no novel-appropriate responding at any dose tested. In contrast, hydromorphone generally increased novel-appropriate responding in a dose-related manner, with placebo-appropriate responding and some triazolam-appropriate responding at intermediate doses occurring also. Triazolam and diazepam produced qualitatively similar increases on several measures of sedative drug effects; hydromorphone increased ratings of like novel and sedative-like effects in subjects who discriminated hydromorphone as novel relative to those who did not. These results indicate that the novel response drug discrimination procedure enhances the specificity of the triazolam-placebo discrimination.This work was supported by USPH grants DA-06205, T32-DA-07242 and Research Scientist Development Award DA-00109 (J.R.H.) from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.     

Self-collected versus health professional-collected genital swabs to identify the prevalence of group B streptococcus: a comparison of patient preference and efficacy

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to determine the prevalence of genital tract group B streptococcus (GBS) colonization in a cohort of pregnant Irish women and to compare patient preference and efficacy of self-collected versus health professional-collected swabs. STUDY DESIGN: In this prospective cohort study, 600 pregnant women attending public and private antenatal clinics at the Unified Maternity Services, Cork were included. At 35-37 weeks of pregnancy, these women self-collected an ano-vaginal swab and a health professional-collected a second swab on same clinic visit. The women filled a questionnaire to indicate their preferences. Statistical analysis was performed on SPSS Version 13. RESULT: The cumulative prevalence of maternal GBS colonization was 11.7% (95% CI, 9.3-14.6). The sensitivity of the self-collected swab was 84.3% (95% CI, 73.2-91.5) and that of health professional-collected swab was 94.3% (95% CI, 85.3-98.2). While good agreement in efficacy was found between health professional and patient-collected swabs (Kappa=0.87, p<0.001, 97.5% measure of concordance), only 28.5% women preferred self-collection, while 43.2% preferred a health professional to collect the swab and 28.3% had no preference. CONCLUSION: In our study the concordance between health professional and self-collected swab was excellent. However, pregnant women mainly prefer a health professional to collect their ano-vaginal swabs.