61,632 research outputs found
JUDICIAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW: A BALANCE BETWEEN JUDICIAL INDEPENDENCE AND PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY
This article discusses judicial appointment and judicial independence in Colorado. The article argues that in Colorado, the independence of the judiciary needs to be protected, perhaps more than at any other time in the state’s history. While public accountability is important, it is achieved through the executive and legislative branches of the government. The courts function best if judges are free to decide each case without regard to how the general public might put a thumb on the scales of justice. To the degree that judicial performance commissions can protect judicial independence, while providing voters in retention elections with sufficient information to make a decision about whether a particular judge should be retained, Colorado’s model is one that can prove helpful to other states
Dextran sulfate enhances the level of an oxidative DNA damage biomarker, 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2 0-deoxyguanosine, in rat colonic mucosa
Dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) given in drinking water can induce colonic Inflammation and produce colorectal tumors in rodents, although it is not directly genotoxic. The hypothesis that DSS can produce free radicals and induce oxidative DNA damage in colonic mucosa has been tested. In rats fed for 2 days with water containing 3% and 6% DSS, colonic Inflammation manifestations were recorded and 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2 0-deoxyguanosine (8-oxodGuo), a major biomarker of oxidative DNA damage, was assayed in colonic mucosa. As compared with control rats given pure water, inflammatory manifestations were seen in rats given DSS. At the same time, 8-oxodGuo levels in colonic mucosa were doubled (P , 0:001). These results suggest that formation of oxidative DNA damage in colonic mucosa depends on inflammation and maybe on the production of reactive oxygen species. This study shows that DSS can induce oxidative DNA damage within only 2 days, which could explain in part its carcinogenic properties
Mass Hierarchies in Lorentz-Violation-induced Dynamical Mass Models
We discuss the issue of fermion mass hierarchies between lepton and quark
families in toy models of dynamical generation of fermion masses through
minimal Lorentz Invariance Violation. Realistic hierarchies in chiral theories
necessitate an extended gauge structure, which includes both vector and
axial-vector interactions.Comment: 4 page
Event reconstruction in high resolution Compton telescopes
The development of germanium Compton telescopes for nuclear gamma-ray
astrophysics (~0.2-20 MeV) requires new event reconstruction techniques to
accurately determine the initial direction and energy of photon events, as well
as to consistently reject background events. This paper describes techniques
for event reconstruction, accounting for realistic instrument/detector
performance and uncertainties. An especially important technique is Compton
Kinematic Discrimination, which allows proper interaction ordering and
background rejection with high probabilities. The use of these techniques are
crucial for the realistic evaluation of the performance and sensitivity of any
germanium Compton telescope configuration.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&AS
RNA regulation of lipotoxicity and metabolic stress
Noncoding RNAs are an emerging class of nonpeptide regulators of metabolism. Metabolic diseases and the altered metabolic environment induce marked changes in levels of microRNAs and long noncoding RNAs. Furthermore, recent studies indicate that a growing number of microRNAs and long noncoding RNAs serve as critical mediators of adaptive and maladaptive responses through their effects on gene expression. The metabolic environment also has a profound impact on the functions of classes of noncoding RNAs that have been thought primarily to subserve housekeeping functions in cells—ribosomal RNAs, transfer RNAs, and small nucleolar RNAs. Evidence is accumulating that these RNAs are also components of an integrated cellular response to the metabolic milieu. This Perspective discusses the different classes of noncoding RNAs and their contributions to the pathogenesis of metabolic stress
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