What Courses Should Law Students Take? Harvard’s Largest Employers Weigh In

We report the results of an online survey, conducted on behalf of Harvard Law School, of 124 practicing attorneys at major law firms. The survey had two main objectives: (1) to assist students in selecting courses by providing them with data about the relative importance of courses; and (2) to provide faculty with information about how to improve the curriculum and best advise students. The most salient result is that students were strongly advised to study accounting and financial statement analysis, as well as corporate finance. These subject areas were viewed as particularly valuable, not only for corporate/transactional lawyers, but also for litigators. Intriguingly, non-traditional courses and skills, such as business strategy and teamwork, are seen as more important than many traditional courses and skills

Inhibition of microbial sulfate reduction in a flow-through column system by (per)chlorate treatment.

Microbial sulfate reduction is a primary cause of oil reservoir souring. Here we show that amendment with chlorate or perchlorate [collectively (per)chlorate] potentially resolves this issue. Triplicate packed columns inoculated with marine sediment were flushed with coastal water amended with yeast extract and one of nitrate, chlorate, or perchlorate. Results showed that although sulfide production was dramatically reduced by all treatments, effluent sulfide was observed in the nitrate (10 mM) treatment after an initial inhibition period. In contrast, no effluent sulfide was observed with (per)chlorate (10 mM). Microbial community analyses indicated temporal community shifts and phylogenetic clustering by treatment. Nitrate addition stimulated Xanthomonadaceae and Rhizobiaceae growth, supporting their role in nitrate metabolism. (Per)chlorate showed distinct effects on microbial community structure compared with nitrate and resulted in a general suppression of the community relative to the untreated control combined with a significant decrease in sulfate reducing species abundance indicating specific toxicity. Furthermore, chlorate stimulated Pseudomonadaceae and Pseudoalteromonadaceae, members of which are known chlorate respirers, suggesting that chlorate may also control sulfidogenesis by biocompetitive exclusion of sulfate-reduction. Perchlorate addition stimulated Desulfobulbaceae and Desulfomonadaceae, which contain sulfide oxidizing and elemental sulfur-reducing species respectively, suggesting that effluent sulfide concentrations may be controlled through sulfur redox cycling in addition to toxicity and biocompetitive exclusion. Sulfur isotope analyses further support sulfur cycling in the columns, even when sulfide is not detected. This study indicates that (per)chlorate show great promise as inhibitors of sulfidogenesis in natural communities and provides insight into which organisms and respiratory processes are involved

Comparative CYP-omic analysis between the DDT-susceptible and -resistant Drosophila melanogaster strains 91-C and 91-R

BACKGROUND: Cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (P450s) are involved in the biosynthesis of endogenous intracellular compounds and the metabolism of xenobiotics, including chemical insecticides.We investigated the structural and expression level variance across all P450 geneswith respect to the evolution of insecticide resistance under multigenerational dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) selection. RESULTS: RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) and reverse transcriptase–quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) indicated that the transcript levels of seven P450 genes were significantly up-regulated and three P450 genes were down-regulated in the DDT-resistant strain 91-R, as compared to the control strain 91-C. The overexpression of Cyp6g1 was associated with the presence of an Accord and an HMS-Beagle element insertion in the 5′ upstreamregion in conjunction with copy number variation in the 91-R strain, but not in the 91-C strain. A total of 122 (50.2%) fixed nonsynonymous (amino acid-changing) mutationswere found between 91-C and 91-R, and 20 (8.2%) resulted in amino acid changes within functional domains. Three P450 proteins were truncated as a result of premature stop codons and fixed between strains. CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrate that a combination of changes in P450 protein-coding regions and transcript levels are possibly associated with DDT resistance, and thereby suggest that selection for variant function may occur within this gene family in response to chronic DDT exposure

Interoceptive Ability Predicts Survival on a London Trading Floor.

Interoception is the sensing of physiological signals originating inside the body, such as hunger, pain and heart rate. People with greater sensitivity to interoceptive signals, as measured by, for example, tests of heart beat detection, perform better in laboratory studies of risky decision-making. However, there has been little field work to determine if interoceptive sensitivity contributes to success in real-world, high-stakes risk taking. Here, we report on a study in which we quantified heartbeat detection skills in a group of financial traders working on a London trading floor. We found that traders are better able to perceive their own heartbeats than matched controls from the non-trading population. Moreover, the interoceptive ability of traders predicted their relative profitability, and strikingly, how long they survived in the financial markets. Our results suggest that signals from the body - the gut feelings of financial lore - contribute to success in the markets.UK Economic and Social Research Council (Programme Grant), European Research Council (Grant ID: ERC AdG324150:CCFIB), Dr. Mortimer and Theresa Sackler Foundation, National Institute for Health Research Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, ARC DECRA Fellowship, Queensland Smart Future FundThis is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Nature Publishing Group via https://doi.org/10.1038/srep3298

There is no association between the omega-3 index and depressive symptoms in patients with heart disease who are low fish consumers

Background: Long chain Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCn3PUFAs) may improve cardiovascular health and depression. This study investigated the relationships between erythrocyte membrane LCn3PUFA status, depression and angina symptoms in patients with heart disease.  Methods: We recruited 91 patients (65 males and 26 females, mean age 59.2 ± 10.3 years) with heart disease and depressive symptoms (Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, CES-D ≥ 16) and low fish/fish oil intakes. The Omega-3 Index (EPA+DHA) of erythrocyte membranes (as a percentage of total fatty acids) was assessed by gas chromatography. Depression status was measured by both self-report and clinician-report scales; CES-D and the Hamilton depression scale (HAM-D). Angina symptoms were measured using the Seattle Angina Questionnaire and the Canadian Cardiovascular Society Classification for Angina Pectoris.  Results: The mean Omega-3 Index was 4.8 ± 1.0% (±SD). Depression scores measured by CES-D and HAM-D were 29.2 ± 8.8 (moderate to severe) and 11.0 ± 5.7 (mild) (arbitrary units) respectively reflecting a different perception of depressive symptoms between patients and clinicians. Angina status was inversely associated with depression scores (r > -0.26, P < 0.03). There were no significant relationships between individual LCn3PUFA or the Omega-3 Index and either the depression scores or the angina symptoms.  Conclusion: Worse angina status was associated with worse depression, but the Omega-3 Index was not associated with symptoms of depression or angina in patients with heart disease