How the global structure of protein interaction networks evolves

Two processes can influence the evolution of protein interaction networks: addition and elimination of interactions between proteins, and gene duplications increasing the number of proteins and interactions. The rates of these processes can be estimated from available Saccharomyces cerevisiae genome data and are sufficiently high to affect network structure on short time scales. For instance, more than 100 interactions may be added to the yeast network every million years, a substantial fraction of which adds previously unconnected proteins to the network. Highly connected proteins show a greater rate of interaction turnover than proteins with few interactions. From these observations one can explain ? without natural selection on global network structure ? the evolutionary sustenance of the most prominent network feature, the distribution of the frequency P(d) of proteins with d neighbors, which is a broad-tailed distribution. This distribution is independent of the experimental approach providing nformation on network structure

Jurisdiction of a Justice of the Peace

The judgment of a court ot record and of general jurisdiction, acting within the scope of its jurisdiction, is presumed to be valid in all particulars unless the contrary affirmatively appears on the face of the record. But even such a judgment is subject to attack on the ground of lack of jurisdiction. The judgment of a court of limited jurisdiction and not of record enjoys no such presumption, and the jurisdiction of such a court must be affirmatively shown. In this state, a justice court is not, and cannot be made, a court of record, and its jurisdiction is limited both as to subject matter and as to territory. Yet in a recent case the Supreme Court upheld, against a direct attack, the validity of a default judgment in a justice court against a defendant residing and served outside its territorial jurisdiction

Inheritance by a Murderer from His Victim

The question whether a murderer can inherit from his victim, except in the case of life insurance, is usually answered in the affirmative. The rule is well settled that if the beneficiary under a life insurance policy murders the insured, neither he nor his heirs or representatives can collect the policy. But in cases where a devisee or heir has murdered his testator or ancester, the courts are divided, the majority holding that however undesirable it may be for a murderer to profit by his crime, nevertheless the statutes of wills or of descent are too clear, that the courts are powerless to read any exception into the statute, and that until the legislature acts there is no way of preventing the murderer from profiting by his crime

Systematic review of psychological approaches to the management of neuropsychiatric symptoms of dementia

Objective: The authors systematically reviewed the literature on psychological approaches to treating the neuropsychiatric symptoms of dementia.Method: Reports of studies that examined effects of any therapy derived from a psychological approach that satisfied prespecified criteria were reviewed. Data were extracted, the quality of each study was rated, and an overall rating was given to each study by using the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine criteria.Results: A total of 1,632 studies were identified, and 162 satisfied the inclusion criteria for the review. Specific types of psychoeducation for caregivers about managing neuropsychiatric symptoms were effective treatments whose benefits lasted for months, but other caregiver interventions were not. Behavioral management techniques that are centered on individual patients' behavior or on caregiver behavior had similar benefits, as did cognitive stimulation. Music therapy and Snoezelen, and possibly sensory stimulation, were useful during the treatment session but had no longer-term effects; interventions that changed the visual environment looked promising, but more research is needed.Conclusions: Only behavior management therapies, specific types of caregiver and residential care staff education, and possibly cognitive stimulation appear to have lasting effectiveness for the management of dementia-associated neuropsychiatric symptoms. Lack of evidence regarding other therapies is not evidence of lack of efficacy. Conclusions are limited because of the paucity of high-quality research ( only nine level-1 studies were identified). More high-quality investigation is needed

Results from the Scottish national HAI prevalence survey

A national point prevalence survey was undertaken over the period of one calendar year in Scotland from October 2005 to October 2006. The prevalence of healthcare-associated infection (HAI) was 9.5% in acute hospitals and 7.3% in non-acute hospitals. The highest prevalence of HAI in acute hospital inpatients was found in the following specialties: care of the elderly (11.9%), surgery (11.2%), medicine (9.6%) and orthopaedics (9.2%). The lowest prevalence was found in obstetrics (0.9%). The most common types of HAI in acute hospital inpatients were: urinary tract infections (17.9% of all HAI), surgical site infections (15.9%) and gastrointestinal infections (15.4%). In non-acute hospitals one in ten inpatients in two specialties (combined) medicine (11.4%) and care of the elderly (7.8%) was found to have HAI, and one in 20 inpatients in psychiatry (5.0%) had HAI. In non-acute hospital patients, urinary tract infections were frequent (28.1% of all HAI) and similarly skin and soft tissue infection (26.8% of all HAI). When combined, these two HAI types affected 4% of all the inpatients in non-acute hospitals. This is the first survey of its kind in Scotland and describes the burden of HAI at a national level

Resistance and resilience of social–ecological systems to recurrent typhoon disturbance on a subtropical island: Taiwan

Tropical cyclones (TCs) have major effects on ecological and social systems. However, studies integrating the effects of TCs on both social and ecological systems are rare, especially in the northwest Pacific, where the frequency of TCs (locally named typhoons) is the highest in the world. We synthesized studies of effects of recurrent typhoons on social and ecological systems in Taiwan over the last several decades. Many responses to TCs are comparable between social and ecological systems. High forest ecosystem resistance, evident from tree mortality below 2% even following multiple strong typhoons, is comparable with resistance of social systems, including the only 4% destruction of river embankments following a typhoon that brought nearly 3000 mm rainfall in three days. High resilience as reflected by quick returns of leaf area index, mostly in one year, and streamwater chemistry, one to several weeks to pre‐typhoon levels of ecosystems, are comparable to quick repair of the power grid within one to several days and returns of vegetable price within several weeks to pre‐typhoon levels of the social systems. Landslides associated with intense typhoons have buried mountain villages and transported large quantities of woody debris to the coast, affecting the coastal plains and reefs, illustrating a ridge‐to‐reef link between ecological and societal systems. Metrics of both social and ecological function showed large fluctuations in response to typhoons but quickly returned to pre‐disturbance levels, except when multiple intense typhoons occurred within a single season. Our synthesis illustrates that the social–ecological systems in Taiwan are highly dynamic and responsive to frequent typhoon disturbance, with extraordinarily high resistance and resilience. For ecosystems, the efficient responsiveness results from the selective force of TCs on ecosystem structure and processes. For social systems, it is the result of the effects of TCs on planning and decision making by individuals (e.g., farmers), management sectors, and ultimately the government. In regions with frequent TCs, the social–ecological systems are inevitably highly dynamic and rapid responses are fundamental to system resistance and resilience which in turn is key to maintaining structure and function of the social–ecological systems

The Parent-Initiated Task Motivational Climate and Factors Influencing Eighth Grade Boys’ Intention to Continue Sports

The motivational climate, as defined by parents’ behaviors, and athletes’ goal orientations are essential in understanding children’s experiences with sport. The purpose of this study was to examine the perceived motivational climate created by parents, and its relationship to psychological outcomes experienced by adolescent male athletes in youth sports. In particular, the parent created task climate was examined through its influence on goal orientation and subsequently to psychological outcomes experienced in sport, specifically, sport competence, self-esteem, enjoyment, and intention to continue participating in sport. Participants were 405 8th grade male athletes (mean age = 13.5); (Sample A: n = 205; Sample B: n = 200). As expected, the task-oriented parent initiated motivational climate was associated with the boys’ mastery goal orientation. Participants with higher mastery goal orientation had greater sport competence, self-esteem, and more enjoyment in sport. Intention to continue playing sport was predicted primarily by their level of enjoyment, and secondarily by their increased feelings of self-esteem

Understanding the scale and nature of outcome change in area-regeneration programmes: evidence from the New Deal for Communities Programme in England

The New Deal for Communities (NDC) Programme is one of the most intensive area-based initiatives (ABIs) launched in England. Between 1998 and 2010, 39 NDC Partnerships were charged with improving conditions in relation to six outcomes within deprived neighbourhoods, each accommodating around 9,800 people. Data point to only modest change, much of which reflected improving attitudes towards the area and the environment. There are problems in identifying positive people-based outcomes because relatively few individuals benefit from relevant initiatives. Few positive benefits leak out of NDC areas. Transformational change was always unlikely bearing in mind the limited nature of additional resources, and because only a minority of individuals directly engage with NDC projects. This evidence supports perspectives of ABIs rooted in 'local-managerialism'