Island States Turn to the Law to Fight Climate Change

The sea is rising. 2023 has seen the highest annual average sea level in recorded history, with sea level measuring four inches above 1993 levels. To many, this may seem inconsequential. However, for those in developing countries, particularly small island nations, rising sea levels present a very real, very pressing threat. For these island countries, the danger of losing their statehood and sovereignty is all too real “as their land surface may be totally covered by the sea or become fully inhabitable” in the near future. This post was originally published on the Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review on October 16, 2023. The original post can be accessed via the Archived Link button above

A Century of National Park Conflict: Class, Geography, and the Changing Values of Conservation Discourse in Maine

Conservation interests have been promoting national park creation in Maine ever since the early 1900s. The only successful push for a national park in the state culminated one hundred years ago in the creation of today’s Acadia National Park in 1916. In the last century, Maine’s North Woods have been the site of four distinct national park debates. Mt. Katahdin was the subject of a hotly contested park proposal in the 1930s, as was the Allagash River in the 1950s and 60s. In 1994 a group called RESTORE: The North Woods began promoting a widely opposed 3.2 million-acre national park in the North Woods region. Today, fervent debate surrounds a proposal by Elliotsville Plantation Inc. for a much smaller national park in the area. This thesis will demonstrate that today’s public park debate is unique in that both park supporters and opponents appeal primarily to economic development arguments to justify their positions. Why is this and what are the repercussions of this particular public framing of the debate? This thesis will answer these questions through a combination of historical archival research into past park debates and contemporary interviews concerning today’s debate, allowing me to trace the various value systems that have been a part of each of Maine’s historical and contemporary park debates. As it turns out, the particular class and geographic dynamics of conservation in Maine are critical to understanding the focus on economic development in today’s debate, and this framing has serious negative consequences

Commercial Kitchen Use and Capacity around the Lewiston-Auburn Area in the Grow L+A and IRSSC Assessment of Development Opportunities for Bates Mill No. 5, Lewiston, Maine

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Tax without Design: Recent Developments in UK Tax Policy

This paper considers the development of tax policy in the UK over the last decade or so and assesses policy change against a low bar- consistency and coherence. While this government has followed some consistent policies- notably, in some aspects of corporation tax and in increasing the income tax personal allowance- there are few signs of a wider coherent strategy. The same has been true of other recent governments. Many aspects of the system have become more complex. There have been numerous policy reversals. And few of those aspects of the system in most need of reform have been tackled. The need for reform, and a clear strategy for reform, remain as pressing as ever

A Blueprint for the 2021 Administration and Congress The Promise of Good Health for All: Transforming Public Health in America

The nation's public health system is dangerously inadequate and needs sustained attention and investment. This report provides an action plan for the administration and Congress taking office in 2021

If We Build It, Will They Come? Perceptions of HIV Cure Research by People Living with HIV in Four U.S. Cities – A Qualitative Focus Group Study

Global interest and investment in the search for an HIV cure has increased. Research has focused on what experts refer to as a sterilizing or eradicating cure, where HIV is eliminated from the body, and on what is often called a functional cure, where HIV remains, kept durably suppressed in the absence of antiretroviral treatment and therapy (ART). Many believe that a functional cure is likely to be found first.Global interest and investment in the search for an HIV cure has increased. Research has focused on what experts refer to as a sterilizing or eradicating cure, where HIV is eliminated from the body, and on what is often called a functional cure, where HIV remains, kept durably suppressed in the absence of antiretroviral treatment and therapy (ART). Many believe that a functional cure is likely to be found first. HIV cure studies will require active participation by people living with HIV (PLWHIV). Their desires and perceptions will be important to effectively recruit study participants and for the uptake of any future strategy that demonstrates safety and efficacy. The perspectives of PLWHIV are essential to advancing HIV cure research, and they should be taken into consideration as biomedical research advances. We conducted 10 focus groups in four U.S. cities, eliciting perspectives of PLWHIV on HIV cure and cure research. Most participants conceived of a cure as eradicating, and felt favorably toward it. In addition to the physical benefits of a potential cure, participants valued the possible de-stigmatization related to no longer living with HIV, liberation from concerns about transmitting HIV, and freedom from the burden of daily medication. Many participants did not regard a functional cure as an improvement over controlling HIV through ART, were distrustful about viral rebound potential, and noted concerns about medical complications and accompanying psychological distress. Some felt that the risks of HIV cure research were not worth taking. Many were skeptical about science's ability to eliminate HIV from the body

Internet interventions for mental health in university students:A systematic review and meta-analysis

OBJECTIVES: Mental health disorders are highly prevalent among university students. Universities could be an optimal setting to provide evidence-based care through the Internet. As part of the World Mental Health International College Student initiative, this systematic review and meta-analysis synthesizes data on the efficacy of Internet-based interventions for university students' mental health. METHOD: A systematic literature search of bibliographical databases (CENTRAL, MEDLINE, and PsycINFO) for randomized trials examining psychological interventions for the mental health (depression, anxiety, stress, sleep problems, and eating disorder symptoms), well-being, and functioning of university students was performed through April 30, 2018. RESULTS: Forty-eight studies were included. Twenty-three studies (48%) were rated to have low risk of bias. Small intervention effects were found on depression (g = 0.18, 95% confidence interval [CI; 0.08, 0.27]), anxiety (g = 0.27, 95% CI [0.13, 0.40]), and stress (g = 0.20, 95% CI [0.02, 0.38]). Moderate effects were found on eating disorder symptoms (g = 0.52, 95% CI [0.22-0.83]) and role functioning (g = 0.41, 95% CI [0.26, 0.56]). Effects on well-being were non-significant (g = 0.15, 95% CI [-0.20, 0.50]). Heterogeneity was moderate to substantial in many analyses. After adjusting for publication bias, effects on anxiety were not significant anymore. DISCUSSION: Internet interventions for university students' mental health can have significant small-to-moderate effects on a range of conditions. However, more research is needed to determine student subsets for which Internet-based interventions are most effective and to explore ways to increase treatment effectiveness. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. KEYWORDS: Internet; college; mental disorders; meta-analysis; psychotherap

Locust Grove, GA

Prepared by the Spring 2013 Preservation Planning Class. The Locust Grove Design Guidelines were developed to help guide the community of Locust Grove in preservation efforts. These Design Guidelines are created to assist the public and the Locust Grove Historic Preservation Commission in the appropriate rehabilitation of historic properties in the district based on the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties.https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/history_heritagepreservation/1024/thumbnail.jp

Human cytomegalovirus mediates APOBEC3B relocalization early during infection through a ribonucleotide reductase-independent mechanism

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infections can range from asymptomatic to severe, particularly in neonates and immunocompromised patients. HCMV has evolved strategies to overcome host-encoded antiviral defenses to achieve lytic viral DNA replication and dissemination and, under some conditions, latency and long-term persistence. Here, we show that HCMV infection causes the antiviral factor, APOBEC3B, to relocalize from the nuclear compartment to the cytoplasm. This overall strategy resembles that used by related herpesviruses. However, the HCMV relocalization mechanism utilizes a different viral factor(s) and available evidence suggests the involvement of at least one protein expressed at the early stages of infection. This knowledge is important because a greater understanding of this mechanism could lead to novel antiviral strategies that enable APOBEC3B to naturally restrict HCMV infection.The APOBEC3 family of DNA cytosine deaminases comprises an important arm of the innate antiviral defense system. The gamma-herpesviruses Epstein-Barr virus and Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus and the alpha-herpesviruses herpes simplex virus (HSV)-1 and HSV-2 have evolved an efficient mechanism to avoid APOBEC3 restriction by directly binding to APOBEC3B and facilitating its exclusion from the nuclear compartment. The only viral protein required for APOBEC3B relocalization is the large subunit of the ribonucleotide reductase (RNR). Here, we ask whether this APOBEC3B relocalization mechanism is conserved with the beta-herpesvirus human cytomegalovirus (HCMV). Although HCMV infection causes APOBEC3B relocalization from the nucleus to the cytoplasm in multiple cell types, the viral RNR (UL45) is not required. APOBEC3B relocalization occurs rapidly following infection suggesting the involvement of an immediate early or early (IE/E) viral protein. In support of this possibility, genetic (IE1 mutant) and pharmacologic (cycloheximide) strategies that prevent the expression of IE/E viral proteins also block APOBEC3B relocalization. In comparison, the treatment of infected cells with phosphonoacetic acid, which interferes with viral late protein expression, still permits A3B relocalization. These results combine to indicate that the beta-herpesvirus HCMV uses an RNR-independent, yet phenotypically similar, molecular mechanism to antagonize APOBEC3B. IMPORTANCEHuman cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infections can range from asymptomatic to severe, particularly in neonates and immunocompromised patients. HCMV has evolved strategies to overcome host-encoded antiviral defenses to achieve lytic viral DNA replication and dissemination and, under some conditions, latency and long-term persistence. Here, we show that HCMV infection causes the antiviral factor, APOBEC3B, to relocalize from the nuclear compartment to the cytoplasm. This overall strategy resembles that used by related herpesviruses. However, the HCMV relocalization mechanism utilizes a different viral factor(s) and available evidence suggests the involvement of at least one protein expressed at the early stages of infection. This knowledge is important because a greater understanding of this mechanism could lead to novel antiviral strategies that enable APOBEC3B to naturally restrict HCMV infection