Rules to Give By: A Global Philanthropy Legal Environment Index

Philanthropy and charitable giving are the lifeblood of civil society. The support of individuals and companies, voluntarily choosing to give their money to help others, is vital to the work of non-profit organizations ("NPOs") around the world. Although this activity is, by definition, independent of government, governments can still play a crucial role in ensuring the right legislative and regulatory conditions for such activity to thrive. This is something that all governments should strive to achieve, as a vibrant civil society sector is a key element of any healthy society. Despite the importance of government support for philanthropy in ensuring the sustainability of civil society, little is known about the overall global picture of how widespread this support is and what form it takes. This report is intended to address this gap in our knowledge and includes recommended international standards for the structures that support philanthropy. Rules to Give By is the first evaluation of the regulatory and tax conditions associated with philanthropy in each of the 193 United Nations Member States. Nexus has worked with McDermott Will & Emery LLP and Charities Aid Foundation over the last two years to gather and analyze comparative information on the legal and fiscal framework for charitable giving around the world that will provide an invaluable new evidence base and advance the debate in this area. This report is the first stage of Nexus's "Global Campaign for a Culture of Philanthropy", which advocates for public policies at local and global levels which encourage and enable more effective giving, recognizes the diverse forms in which philanthropy appears, and promotes best practice and role models to inspire greater generosity. We hope that the report and the accompanying index will be of interest to anyone who wants to better understand the legal frameworks governing the tax treatment of NPOs and charitable donations around the world, and how these frameworks can be used to stimulate greater philanthropic giving. This will include those in governments who have the power to design and implement the necessary policies, as well as those who stand to benefit from these policies such as philanthropists, businesses, and civil society

Characterization of Upstream Mixing Cavities and a Downstream Combustion Cavity in Supersonic Flow

A key area of study in air-breathing hydrocarbon-fueled scramjet combustors is the characterization of cavity-based fuel injection and flame holding. One issue concerns oscillatory disturbances caused by trapped vortices in the main flame holder cavity as a fuel-air mixing enhancement technique. Previous research demonstrates that oscillatory disturbances can be carried downstream via the shear layer and alter the oscillatory characteristics of a downstream cavity. This study investigates the mixing effectiveness of three upstream direct-fueled mixing cavities as well as the effect on the oscillatory behavior of the downstream combustion cavity by the upstream mixing cavity. The three upstream mixing cavities are characterized in Mach 2 freestream flow with injection at three locations within each cavity. Non-intrusive visual data are collected using the nitric oxide (NO) Planar Laser Induced Fluorescence (PLIF) diagnostic technique to characterize mixing and shear layer influence. High frequency response pressure transducers measure pressure fluctuations in both the upstream and downstream cavities for comparative analysis. Injection at the upstream wall of the cavity provided greater penetration height into the freestream as well as faster mixing with the freestream compared to injection at the center or aft wall of the cavity. The pressure oscillations in each cavity showed strong similarities; however, the amplitudes of the frequencies were too small to be effective in lifting mass into the freestream

Complete Closed Genome Sequence of Nontoxigenic Invasive Corynebacterium diphtheriae bv. mitis Strain ISS 3319

The genome sequence of the human pathogen Corynebacterium diphtheriae bv. mitis strain ISS 3319 was determined and closed in this study. The genome is estimated to have 2,404,936 bp encoding 2,257 proteins. This strain also possesses a plasmid of 1,960 bp

Screening for Popliteal Aneurysms Should not be a Routine Part of a Community-Based Aneurysm Screening Program

Martin Claridge1, Simon Hobbs1, Clive Quick2, Donald Adam1, Andrew Bradbury1, Teun Wilmink11University Department of Vascular Surgery, Birmingham Heartlands Hospital, Birmingham, UK; 2Department of Surgery, Hinchingbrooke Hospital, Huntingdon, UKIntroduction: Several studies have found an increased incidence of peripheral aneurysms in patients with an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). The aim of this study was to determine whether screening for popliteal aneurysms should be part of an AAA screening programme.Setting: A community-based AAA screening programmeMethods: The diameters of the internal abdominal aorta and both popliteal arteries were assessed by B-Mode ultrasound in a subgroup of the screened population. An AAA was defined as an infrarenal aortic diameter >29 mm. A popliteal aneurysm was defined as a popliteal diameter >19 mm.Results: Information was available for 283 subjects, 112 subjects with a small AAA, and 171 subjects with a normal aorta. No popliteal aneurysms were found in the subjects with a normal aorta. Three popliteal aneurysms were found in patients with a small AAA. Scanning both popliteal arteries took an experienced sonographer on average three times as long as scanning for an AAA (5 vs 15 minutes).Conclusion: Popliteal artery aneurysms are seen in less than 3% of men with a small AAA and not at all in men with a normal aortic diameter. It is therefore not cost effective to include screening for popliteal aneurysms in population screening for AAA.Keywords: popliteal aneurysm, screening progra

Facial Onset Sensory and Motor Neuronopathy: A Case Series and Literature Review

Introduction: Facial Onset Sensory and Motor Neuronopathy (FOSMN) typically presents with paresthesias in the trigeminal nerve distribution and weakness that progresses rostro-caudally. Objective: To present two new cases of FOSMN, summarize the current literature, and address areas for future study. Methods: Observational data was collected from two patients with FOSMN from our institution. A literature review of FOSMN was completed using PubMed. Results: We identified 100 cases of FOSMN, including our two new cases. 93% presented with facial paresthesias. 97% had bulbar symptoms. Five had family history of ALS. Abnormal Blink reflex was most common on EMG/NCS. CSF was typically normal, but a rare severe case showed elevated protein. Mutations included: TARDBP, OPMD, D90A-SOD1, CHCHD10, VCP, and SQSTM1. Neuropathological studies showed neurodegenerative changes without inflammation. Some cases have reported transient stabilization or improvement to immunomodulatory therapy. Case Reports: A 72-year-old man presented with right-sided trigeminal paresthesias that progressed in a rostro-caudal fashion, dysphagia, and hand weakness. He died 4-5 years after symptom onset. A 69-year-old man presented with left-sided jaw paresthesias, dysphagia and dysarthria. He was trialed on IVIG for 1.5 years without improvement and died 2.6 years after symptom onset. Conclusion: FOSMN is a rare disorder with a unique clinical and electrophysiological phenotype. The pathophysiology has been associated with neurodegeneration and multiple gene mutations have correlated to FOSMN. Some reports suggest transient response to immunomodulatory therapy, though prospective studies are lacking. CSF protein elevation may be seen in severe disease. Future studies will help further elucidate the approach to diagnosis, treatment, and prognostic counseling (biomarkers). &nbsp

Enhanced tonic GABAA inhibition in typical absence epilepsy

The cellular mechanisms underlying typical absence seizures, which characterize various idiopathic generalized epilepsies, are not fully understood, but impaired GABAergic inhibition remains an attractive hypothesis. In contrast, we show here that extrasynaptic GABAA receptor–dependent ‘tonic’ inhibition is increased in thalamocortical neurons from diverse genetic and pharmacological models of absence seizures. Increased tonic inhibition is due to compromised GABA uptake by the GABA transporter GAT–1 in the genetic models tested, and GAT–1 is critical in governing seizure genesis. Extrasynaptic GABAA receptors are a requirement for seizures in two of the best characterized models of absence epilepsy, and the selective activation of thalamic extrasynaptic GABAA receptors is sufficient to elicit both electrographic and behavioural correlates of seizures in normal animals. These results identify an apparently common cellular pathology in typical absence seizures that may have epileptogenic significance, and highlight novel therapeutic targets for the treatment of absence epilepsy.peer-reviewe

A Multi-disciplinary Commentary on Preclinical Research to investigate Vascular Contributions to Dementia

Although dementia research has been dominated by Alzheimer's disease (AD), most dementia in older people is now recognised to be due to mixed pathologies, usually combining vascular and AD brain pathology. Vascular cognitive impairment (VCI), which encompasses vascular dementia (VaD) is the second most common type of dementia. Models of VCI have been delayed by limited understanding of the underlying aetiology and pathogenesis. This review by a multidisciplinary, diverse (in terms of sex, geography and career stage), cross-institute team provides a perspective on limitations to current VCI models and recommendations for improving translation and reproducibility. We discuss reproducibility, clinical features of VCI and corresponding assessments in models, human pathology, bioinformatics approaches, and data sharing. We offer recommendations for future research, particularly focusing on small vessel disease as a main underpinning disorder.</p

A multi-disciplinary commentary on preclinical research to investigate vascular contributions to dementia

Although dementia research has been dominated by Alzheimer's disease (AD), most dementia in older people is now recognised to be due to mixed pathologies, usually combining vascular and AD brain pathology. Vascular cognitive impairment (VCI), which encompasses vascular dementia (VaD) is the second most common type of dementia. Models of VCI have been delayed by limited understanding of the underlying aetiology and pathogenesis. This review by a multidisciplinary, diverse (in terms of sex, geography and career stage), cross-institute team provides a perspective on limitations to current VCI models and recommendations for improving translation and reproducibility. We discuss reproducibility, clinical features of VCI and corresponding assessments in models, human pathology, bioinformatics approaches, and data sharing. We offer recommendations for future research, particularly focusing on small vessel disease as a main underpinning disorder