Restorative Justice-Informed Moral Acquaintance: Resolving the Dual Role Problem in Correctional and Forensic Practice

The issue of dual roles within forensic and correctional fields has typically been conceptualized as dissonance—experienced by practitioners— when attempting to adhere to the conflicting ethical requirements associated with client well-being and community protection. In this paper, we argue that the dual role problem should be conceptualized more broadly; to incorporate the relationship between the offender and their victim. We also propose that Restorative Justice (RJ) is able to provide a preliminary ethical framework to deal with this common ethical oversight. Furthermore, we unite the RJ framework with that of Ward’s (2013) moral acquaintance model to provide a more powerful approach—RJ informed moral acquaintance—aimed at addressing the ethical challenges faced by practitioners within forensic and correctional roles

Nitrogen functionalized carbon nanostructures supported Pd and Au-Pd NPs as catalyst for alcohols oxidation

Two different carbon nanotubes (CNTs) PR24-PS and Baytubes were functionalized by oxidation with nitric acid and further amination with gaseous NH3. Thus Au and Au-Pd nanoparticles were prepared by PVA/NaBH4 system and anchored on the surface of pristine CNTs and N-CNTs (Nitrogen functionalized carbon nanotubes). TEM analysis revealed that the introduction of nitrogen functionalities improves the dispersion of the metal nanoparticles on the surface of the support. This phenomena leads to an improved activity of N-CNTs based catalysts with the respect of pristine CNTs when tested in the liquid phase oxidation of alcohols

Efficacy of adalimumab as second-line therapy in a pediatric cohort of crohn’s disease patients who failed infliximab therapy: The Italian society of pediatric gastroenterology, hepatology, and nutrition experience

Background: Adalimumab (Ada) treatment is an available option for pediatric Crohn’s disease (CD) and the published experience as rescue therapy is limited. Objectives: We investigated Ada efficacy in a retrospective, pediatric CD cohort who had failed previous infliximab treatment, with a minimum follow-up of 6 months. Methods: In this multicenter study, data on demographics, clinical activity, growth, laboratory values (CRP) and adverse events were collected from CD patients during follow-up. Clinical remission (CR) and response were defined with Pediatric CD Activity Index (PCDAI) score ≤10 and a decrease in PCDAI score of ≥12.5 from baseline, respectively. Results: A total of 44 patients were consecutively recruited (mean age 14.8 years): 34 of 44 (77%) had active disease (mean PCDAI score 24.5) at the time of Ada administration, with a mean disease duration of 3.4 (range 0.3–11.2) years. At 6, 12, and 18 months, out of the total of the enrolled population, CR rates were 55%, 78%, and 52%, respectively, with a significant decrease in PCDAI scores (P<0.01) and mean CRP values (mean CRP 5.7 and 2.4 mL/dL, respectively; P<0.01) at the end of follow-up. Steroid-free remission rates, considered as the total number of patients in CR who were not using steroids at the end of this study, were 93%, 95%, and 96% in 44 patients at 6, 12, and 18 months, respectively. No significant differences in growth parameters were detected. In univariate analysis of variables related to Ada efficacy, we found that only a disease duration >2 years was negatively correlated with final PCDAI score (P<0.01). Two serious adverse events were recorded: 1 meningitis and 1 medulloblastoma. Conclusion: Our data confirm Ada efficacy in pediatric patients as second-line biological therapy after infliximab failure. Longer-term prospective data are warranted to define general effectiveness and safety in pediatric CD patients

Weak Transversality and Partially Invariant Solutions

New exact solutions are obtained for several nonlinear physical equations, namely the Navier-Stokes and Euler systems, an isentropic compressible fluid system and a vector nonlinear Schroedinger equation. The solution methods make use of the symmetry group of the system in situations when the standard Lie method of symmetry reduction is not applicable.Comment: 23 pages, preprint CRM-284

A multi-layer extension of the stochastic heat equation

Motivated by recent developments on solvable directed polymer models, we define a 'multi-layer' extension of the stochastic heat equation involving non-intersecting Brownian motions.Comment: v4: substantially extended and revised versio

The Amundsen Sea Polynya International Research Expedition (ASPIRE)

In search of an explanation for some of the greenest waters ever seen in coastal Antarctica and their possible link to some of the fastest melting glaciers and declining summer sea ice, the Amundsen Sea Polynya International Research Expedition (ASPIRE) challenged the capabilities of the US Antarctic Program and RVIB Nathaniel B. Palmer during Austral summer 2010–2011. We were well rewarded by both an extraordinary research platform and a truly remarkable oceanic setting. Here we provide further insights into the key questions that motivated our sampling approach during ASPIRE and present some preliminary findings, while highlighting the value of the Palmer for accomplishing complex, multifaceted oceanographic research in such a challenging environment

Simultaneous wireless and high-resolution detection of nucleus accumbens shell ethanol concentrations and free motion of rats upon voluntary ethanol intake

Highly sensitive detection of ethanol concentrations in discrete brain regions of rats voluntarily accessing ethanol, with high temporal resolution, would represent a source of greatly desirable data in studies devoted to understanding the kinetics of the neurobiological basis of ethanol's ability to impact behavior. In the present study, we present a series of experiments aiming to validate and apply an original high-tech implantable device, consisting of the coupling, for the first time, of an amperometric biosensor for brain ethanol detection, with a sensor for detecting the microvibrations of the animal. This device allows the real-time comparison between the ethanol intake, its cerebral concentrations, and their effect on the motion when the animal is in the condition of voluntary drinking. To this end, we assessed in vitro the efficiency of three different biosensor designs loading diverse alcohol oxidase enzymes (AOx) obtained from three different AOx-donor strains: Hansenula polymorpha, Candida boidinii, and Pichia pastoris. In vitro data disclosed that the devices loading H. polymorpha and C. boidinii were similarly efficient (respectively, linear region slope [LRS]: 1.98 ± 0.07 and 1.38 ± 0.04 nA/mM) but significantly less than the P. pastoris-loaded one (LRS: 7.57 ± 0.12 nA/mM). The in vivo results indicate that this last biosensor design detected the rise of ethanol in the nucleus accumbens shell (AcbSh) after 15 minutes of voluntary 10% ethanol solution intake. At the same time, the microvibration sensor detected a significant increase in the rat's motion signal. Notably, both the biosensor and microvibration sensor described similar and parallel time-dependent U-shaped curves, thus providing a highly sensitive and time-locked high-resolution detection of the neurochemical and behavioral kinetics upon voluntary ethanol intake. The results overall indicate that such a dual telemetry unit represents a powerful device which, implanted in different brain areas, may boost further investigations on the neurobiological mechanisms that underlie ethanol-induced motor activity and reward

Nature of the N-Pd interaction in nitrogen-doped carbon nanotube catalysts

In this work, the geometric and electronic structure of N species in N-doped carbon nanotubes (NCNTs) is derived by X-ray photoemission (XPS) and absorption spectroscopy (NEXAFS) of the N 1s core excitation. Substitutional N species in pyridine-like configuration and another form of N with higher thermal stability are found in NCNTs. The structural configuration of the high thermally stable N species, in the literature often referred to as graphitic N, is assessed in this work by a combined theoretical and experimental study as a 3-fold substitutional N species in an NCNT basic structural unit (BSU). Furthermore, the nature of the interaction of those N species with a Pd metal center immobilized onto NCNTs is of σ-type donation from the filled π-orbital of the N atom to the empty d-orbital of the Pd atom and a π back donation from the filled Pd atomic d-orbital to the π* antibonding orbital of the N atom. We have found that the interaction of pyridine N with Pd is characterized by a charge transfer typical of a covalent chemical bond with partial ionic character, consistent with the chemical shift observed in the Pd 3d core level of divalent Pd. Graphitic N sites interact with Pd by a covalent bond without any charge redistribution. In this case, the electronic state of the Pd corresponds to metallic Pd nanoparticles electronically modified by the interaction with the support. The catalytic reactivity of these samples in hydrogenation, CO oxidation, and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) allowed clarifying some aspects of the metal carbon support interaction in catalysis

Ab-initio study of model guanine assemblies: The role of pi-pi coupling and band transport

Several assemblies of guanine molecules are investigated by means of first-principle calculations. Such structures include stacked and hydrogen-bonded dimers, as well as vertical columns and planar ribbons, respectively, obtained by periodically replicating the dimers. Our results are in good agreement with experimental data for isolated molecules, isolated dimers, and periodic ribbons. For stacked dimers and columns, the stability is affected by the relative charge distribution of the pi orbitals in adjacent guanine molecules. pi-pi coupling in some stacked columns induces dispersive energy bands, while no dispersion is identified in the planar ribbons along the connections of hydrogen bonds. The implications for different materials comprised of guanine aggregates are discussed. The bandstructure of dispersive configurations may justify a contribution of band transport (Bloch type) in the conduction mechanism of deoxyguanosine fibres, while in DNA-like configurations band transport should be negligible.Comment: 21 pages, 6 figures, 3 tables, to be published in Phys. Rev.