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Punitive Damages and the Tort System

This article is based on the Emmanuel Emroch Lecture Series address delivered by the Honorable Griffin B. Bell on April 8, 1987 at the T. C. Williams School of Law. Each year the Emmanuel Emroch Lecture Series features practitionersand academicians who are authorities on a particulararea of the law. The University of Richmond Law Review applauds Mr. Emroch\u27s commitment to excellence in legal education and his continued support of the T. C. Williams School of Law

Probing of RNA structures in a positive sense RNA virus reveals selection pressures for structural elements.

In single stranded (+)-sense RNA viruses, RNA structural elements (SEs) play essential roles in the infection process from replication to encapsidation. Using selective 2'-hydroxyl acylation analyzed by primer extension sequencing (SHAPE-Seq) and covariation analysis, we explore the structural features of the third genome segment of cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), RNA3 (2216 nt), both in vitro and in plant cell lysates. Comparing SHAPE-Seq and covariation analysis results revealed multiple SEs in the coat protein open reading frame and 3' untranslated region. Four of these SEs were mutated and serially passaged in Nicotiana tabacum plants to identify biologically selected changes to the original mutated sequences. After passaging, loop mutants showed partial reversion to their wild-type sequence and SEs that were structurally disrupted by mutations were restored to wild-type-like structures via synonymous mutations in planta. These results support the existence and selection of virus open reading frame SEs in the host organism and provide a framework for further studies on the role of RNA structure in viral infection. Additionally, this work demonstrates the applicability of high-throughput chemical probing in plant cell lysates and presents a new method for calculating SHAPE reactivities from overlapping reverse transcriptase priming sites

Primary osteoblast-like cells from patients with end-stage kidney disease reflect gene expression, proliferation, and mineralization characteristics ex vivo.

Osteocytes regulate bone turnover and mineralization in chronic kidney disease. As osteocytes are derived from osteoblasts, alterations in osteoblast function may regulate osteoblast maturation, osteocytic transition, bone turnover, and skeletal mineralization. Thus, primary osteoblast-like cells were cultured from bone chips obtained from 24 pediatric ESKD patients. RNA expression in cultured cells was compared with RNA expression in cells from healthy individuals, to RNA expression in the bone core itself, and to parameters of bone histomorphometry. Proliferation and mineralization rates of patient cells were compared with rates in healthy control cells. Associations were observed between bone osteoid accumulation, as assessed by bone histomorphometry, and bone core RNA expression of osterix, matrix gla protein, parathyroid hormone receptor 1, and RANKL. Gene expression of osteoblast markers was increased in cells from ESKD patients and signaling genes including Cyp24A1, Cyp27B1, VDR, and NHERF1 correlated between cells and bone cores. Cells from patients with high turnover renal osteodystrophy proliferated more rapidly and mineralized more slowly than did cells from healthy controls. Thus, primary osteoblasts obtained from patients with ESKD retain changes in gene expression ex vivo that are also observed in bone core specimens. Evaluation of these cells in vitro may provide further insights into the abnormal bone biology that persists, despite current therapies, in patients with ESKD

Relocation remembered: Perspectives on senior transitions in the living environment

The experience of aging may necessitate transitions in living environments, either through adaptations to current residences or relocations to more supportive environments. For over a half century, the study of these transitions has informed the work of researchers, health and mental health providers, policymakers, and municipal planners. In the 1970s and ‘80s, knowledge about these transitions advanced through Lawton & Nahemow’s ecological theory of competence and environmental press, Wiseman’s behavioral model of relocation decision-making, and Litwak & Longino’s developmental perspective on senior migrations. This paper revisits influential theoretical frameworks which contribute to our understanding of senior transitions in living environments. These seminal works are shown to inform recent studies of relocation and gerontology. This paper concludes with a call for a view on housing transitions that reflects the contemporary context

Spitzer Observations of CO2 Ice Towards Field Stars in the Taurus Molecular Cloud

We present the first Spitzer Infrared Spectrograph observations of the 15.2 micron bending mode of CO2 ice towards field stars behind a quiescent dark cloud. CO2 ice is detected towards 2 field stars (Elias 16, Elias 3) and a single protostar (HL Tau) with anabundance of ~15-20% relative to water ice. CO2 ice is not detected towards the source with lowest extinction in our sample, Tamura 17 (A_V = 3.9m). A comparison of the Elias 16 spectrum with laboratory data demonstrates that the majority of CO2 ice is embedded in a polar H2O-rich ice component, with ~15% of CO2 residing in an apolar H2O-poor mantle. This is the first detection of apolar CO2 towards a field star. We find that the CO2 extinction threshold is A_V = 4m +/- 1m, comparable to the threshold for water ice, but significantly less than the threshold for CO ice, the likely precursor of CO2. Our results confirm CO2 ice forms in tandem with H2O ice along quiescent lines of sight. This argues for CO2 ice formation via a mechanism similar to that responsible for H2O ice formation, viz. simple catalytic reactions on grain surfaces.Comment: Accepted by Astrophysical Journal Letter

SHG microscopic observations of polar state in Li-doped KTaO3 under electric field

Incipient ferroelectric KTaO3 with off-center Li impurity of the critical concentration of 2.8 mol% was investigated in order to clarify the dipole glass state under electric field. Using optical second-harmonic generation (SHG) microscope, we observed a marked history dependence of SHG intensity through zero-field cooling (ZFC), zero-field heating (ZFH), field heating after ZFC (FH/ZFC) and FH after field cooling (FH/FC). These show different paths with respect to temperature: In the ZFC/ZFH process, weak SHG was observed at low temperature, while in the FH/ZFC process, relatively high SHG appears in a limited temperature range below TF depending on the field strength, and in the FC and FH/FC processes, the SHG exhibits ferroelectric-like temperature dependence: it appears at the freezing temperature of 50K, increases with decreasing temperature and has a tendency of saturation. These experimental results strongly suggest that dipole glass state or polar nano-clusters which gradually freezes with decreasing temperature is transformed into semi-macroscopic polar state under the electric field. However at sufficiently low temperature, the freezing is so strong that the electric field cannot enlarge the polar clusters. These experimental results show that the polar nano-cluster model similar to relaxors would be more relevant in KTaO3 doped with the critical concentration of Li. Further experiments on the anisotropy of SHG determine that the average symmetry of the field-induced polar phase is tetragonal 4mm or 4, which is also confirmed by the X-ray diffraction measurement.Comment: 26 pages, 8 figures, 1 tabl