Negotiated plea agreements in cases of serious and complex fraud in England and Wales: a new conceptualisation of plea bargaining?

This article examines negotiated plea agreements introduced by the Attorney General in 2009 for cases of serious or complex fraud, and the degree to which these differ from plea agreements reached through informal plea bargaining in other types of criminal case. It first considers whether the formally negotiated agreements are a result of coercion being brought to bear on defendants, or of defendants ‘playing the system’ (the two most common criticisms of ordinary plea bargains). It is then argued that an alternative conceptualisation may be more appropriate in serious fraud cases. To this end, approaches to plea bargaining more commonly applied in the United States (consensual, concessions, and contractual models) are considered in light of the current context. It is submitted that whilst these approaches have only limited application to defendants in ordinary criminal cases, they may help explain the dynamic of plea agreements in serious fraud cases. This in turn provides a basis upon which to assess the fairness of negotiated pleas in serious fraud cases, and highlights issues which lie at the core of the plea bargaining debate

Proteomic Analysis Of Plasma Exosomes Reveals That Kappa:Lambda Ratio Predicts Severe Acute Graft-Versus-Host Disease

Background: Acute Graft-Versus-Host disease (acute GVH D) is an often fatal, inflammatory multi-organ disease driven by T cell alloreactivity directed toward host tissues. One of the chief obstacles to improving outcomes of acute GVHD patients is timely diagnosis. Currently, acute GVHD is diagnosed clinically, once the symptoms are fully manifested. However, it is clear that important immunologic events occur prior to the occurrence of symptoms. A biomarker that could predict disease during the asymptomatic period could improve patient outcomes by allowing for earlier intensification of immunosuppressant therapy. Exosomes are an attractive target for acute GVHD biomarker discovery. They contain a variety of cellular components and are easily obtained from bodily fluids. Furthermore, the cell types implicated in acute GVHD pathophysiology produce exosomes with strong immunomodulatory effects. Methods: A differential centrifugation protocol was developed to isolate exosomes from cryopreserved plasma. The presence of exosomes in the final pellet was confirmed by Western blotting of known exosome markers and by electron microscopy. This protocol was used to isolate exosome-enriched pellets from 5 ml plasma samples obtained on posttransplantation day 7 from 7 patients (N=7) who had undergone allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Three of these patients (cases) later developed severe acute GVHD (grade C or D), whereas 4 patients did not develop acute GVHD of any grade (controls). Proteomic analysis was performed on exosome pellets using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry and iTRAQ labeling, which allowed us to compare the relative quantities of identified proteins between cases and controls. Results: We made 33 protein identifications. iTRAQ analysis did not demonstrate any statistically significant differences between cases and controls. Despite this limitation, our data did show trends toward differences in the relative abundances of some proteins. Specifically, there was a trend toward increased IgG3 constant region in cases (median case:control ratio= 1.36; credible interval of case:control ratio= 0.857, 2.19), increased lambda light chain constant region in cases (median case:control ratio= 1 .35; credible interval of case:control ratio= 0.844,2.07) and decreased kappa light chain constant region in cases (median case:control ratio=O.847; credible interval of case:control ratio=.0586, 1.21). Further statistical analysis to compare the kappa:lambda ratios in cases compared controls showed that the median case:control kappa:lambda ratio was 0.63, with a 95% CI of 0.377, 1.027 (p=0.011). Conclusion: Differences in kappa:lambda ratios, early after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation may be predictive of the development of acute GVHD. Future studies will be directed toward validation of these results

Discovery of Novel Prognostic Biomarkers of Acute Kidney Injury

Background: Acute kidney injury is a cause of significant morbidity and mortality in hospitalized patients. Prognostic biomarkers that predict at the time of diagnosis which patients will develop severe AKI and its complications would facilitate timely intervention and could lead to improved outcomes. The urinary proteome is a logical source of candidate biomarkers of kidney injury. Methods: Urine was collected from rodents and human subjects with AKI secondary to diverse etiologies, including cardiac surgery, ischemic/hypoxic injury, and nephrotoxicity. Shotgun proteomics was used to identify candidate biomarkers in four separate discovery phase experiments. These candidates were then verified in a larger cohort and case-control studies, in which they were measured using ELISA and a multiplex, quantitative mass spectrometry assay. Results: A total of 22 candidate prognostic biomarkers of AKI were identified by shotgun proteomic analysis of urine from rodents and humans with AKI. Of these, urinary angiotensinogen was the most promising. The prognostic predictive power of urinary angiotensinogen was verified in a cohort of post-cardiac surgery human subjects with AKI (n = 204), which found that it was a strong predictor of progression from Acute Kidney Injury Network (AKIN) stage 1 AKI to the composite endpoint AKIN stage 3 or death, having an area under the ROC curve of 0.75, 95% CI [0.65, 0.85]. In the same cohort, urinary renin concentration had an AUC of 0.7, 95% CI [0.57, 0.83] for the outcome. A classification tree model found that the combination of these biomarkers could predict the outcome with a positive predictive value of 80.4%. The quantitative mass spectrometry assay was able to successfully measure 11 of the 22 candidate biomarkers, and using this assay, the prognostic predictive power of urinary superoxide dismutase [Cu-Zn], myoglobin was confirmed in a subset of the aforementioned cohort of post-cardiac surgery AKI patients (n =156). SOD and myoglobin predicted progression from AKIN stage 1 to AKIN stage 3 or death with an AUC of 0.76 and 0.77, respectively. Urinary angiotensinogen was also included in the assay, and it had an AUC of 0.74 for the outcome. The performance characteristics of these novel biomarkers compared favorably with urinary liver-type fatty acid binding protein (AUC = 0.69), a more established AKI biomarker which was also included in the assay

Is Ginkgo Biloba Effective In Managing The Symptoms Of ADHD And Does It Exhibit Lower Adverse Side Effects As Compared To The Current Standard Of Treatment?

Objective: The objective of this selective evidence based medicine review is to determine whether or not ginkgo biloba is effective in managing the symptoms of ADHD and if it exhibits lower adverse side effects as compared to the current standard of treatment. Study Design: Systematic review of three English language studies, two of which were randomized, double blind, controlled trials (one positive controlled, one placebo controlled), and one open prospective cohort study, published between 2009-2015. Data Source: Two randomized, double blind, controlled trials (one positive controlled, one placebo controlled), and one open prospective cohort study. In one study the group received only ginkgo biloba as tolerated with no comparison group. In another study, one group received methylphenidate and ginkgo biloba while the comparison group received methylphenidate and a placebo. In the final study one group received ginkgo biloba while the comparison group received methylphenidate. All studies were published in peer reviewed journals and were found via Medline and Pubmed. Outcomes Measured: The efficacy and tolerability of ginkgo biloba in the treatment of ADHD symptoms as well as its side effects. This was measured by an ADHD Rating Scale IV and FBB-HKS (a German DSM-IV-oriented rating scale for ADHD problems) performed by the subjects’ parents and teachers, CGAS by the subjects’ parents, and side effects by parents, subjects, and psychiatrists using a rating scale. Results: The positive controlled study showed methylphenidate to be significantly more efficacious than ginkgo biloba, however ginkgo biloba showed fewer adverse side effects. The placebo controlled study showed ginkgo biloba was effective as an add on therapy to methylphenidate as compared to methylphenidate and a placebo. The open prospective study showed that with ginkgo biloba, there was improvement in ADHD symptoms as compared to baseline, with minimal adverse side effects. Conclusions: From the studies conducted, ginkgo biloba showed to be inferior to methylphenidate. However, it was an effective alternative or adjunctive treatment for ADHD symptoms as compared to no treatment or a placebo. Furthermore, it exhibited minimal adverse side effects

Beyond Gr\"obner Bases: Basis Selection for Minimal Solvers

Many computer vision applications require robust estimation of the underlying geometry, in terms of camera motion and 3D structure of the scene. These robust methods often rely on running minimal solvers in a RANSAC framework. In this paper we show how we can make polynomial solvers based on the action matrix method faster, by careful selection of the monomial bases. These monomial bases have traditionally been based on a Gr\"obner basis for the polynomial ideal. Here we describe how we can enumerate all such bases in an efficient way. We also show that going beyond Gr\"obner bases leads to more efficient solvers in many cases. We present a novel basis sampling scheme that we evaluate on a number of problems

Música nos tempos coloniais:: um olhar a partir da prática musical em Minas Gerais hoje

Este artigo se dedica à narrativas sobre a Música Colonial Mineira, Música Barroca Mineira ou, simplesmente, Música Mineira. Se trata de música composta nos tempos coloniais em Minas Gerais, na maioria das vezes, com um fim litúrgico. Hoje em dia, esta música continua sendo interpretada em Minas Gerais por grupos musicais nos templos religiosos e nos palcos em contextos de festas religiosas ou concertos, muitas vezes na base de manuscritos encontrados em acervos de bandas de música locais ou na base de edições desses manuscritos feitas por “autoridades musicais”, isto é, pessoas com estudos de música. Partindo duma contextualização histórica da música produzida durante o ciclo de ouro em Minas Gerais, o artigo examina diversos discursos sobre esta música, influenciados por narrativas da historiografia, tanto do meio acadêmico como de comunidades locais. Ele mostra também o papel que estes discursos têm na prática musical em Minas Gerais hoje

Fasilitering van ‘n bate-gebaseerde benadering ter bevordering van leerders se psigososiale ontwikkeling in ‘n nywerheidskool (Afrikaans)

The aim of this study is to explore the assets that are available in the context of the school of industries that will promote the youth at risk’s psycho-social development using the asset based approach. The researcher followed a qualitative research approach guided by an interpretivist epistemology and employed a case study design in the natural environment. Multiple data collection methods (interviews, focus groups and documentation) were used in order to gain rich descriptions of the participants’ perceptions of assets available for the enhancement of the adolescent’s psycho-social development. Results indicate that many assets for example, human as well as physical resources, structures and procedures are currently used and can be effectively mobilized in the future at schools of industries to promote the development of the adolescent on personal, social and moral levels. Placement at a school of industries is beneficial to the youth at risk because he can continue his schooling and therapeutic counseling is available which will empower him to successfully return to the community. Dysfunctions in the system involved with the placement of youth at risk at schools of industries are currently preventing the use of the school of industries, involved in this research, as a community asset for the child- and youth care system. CopyrightDissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2009.Educational Psychologyunrestricte