Making the case for ECRIS: Post “Brexit” sharing of criminal records information between the European Union and United Kingdom

Criminal record information has various uses including, in the detection of crime, as evidence in criminal proceedings, in consideration of an appropriate sentence after conviction and in determining the suitability of an individual for, or providing a bar to, employment. As such this information can have a high value but can also significantly interfere with a person’s right to private and family life under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The importance of Article 8 in this area has been increasingly recognised in both domestically and in Strasbourg with such case law making clear the imperative that criminal record information is accurate, retained and disclosed only in proper circumstances and, where appropriate, is capable of being subject to proper challenge. The operation of the European Criminal Records Information System (ECRIS) for exchange of criminal records between member states is explored and the benefits and risks of exchanging criminal records information within such an automated system are identified. The compliance of ECRIS to Article 8 ECHR is considered and suggestions made for future improvements. Evidence is provided that ECRIS constitutes a singular improvement on earlier ad-hoc arrangements and should therefore be retained by the United Kingdom post-Brexit

Exploring public perspectives of e-professionalism in nursing

E-professionalism is a common term used to describe the behaviours of nurses and healthcare professionals in the online environment. There are a range of professional guidance documents that describe being professional online but there is little research into the perspectives of patients and the public. This mixed-method critical realist study aimed to explain how the public make decisions about what is e-professional. It used five ‘real life’ vignettes for the purposes of discussion in focus groups (n=8) and a survey (n=53). Participants felt that a nurse was entitled to a personal life, freedom of speech and promotion of causes the nurse believes to be important even if this was not aligned to their own attitudes. Profanities against anyone were unanimously rejected as acceptable. The public make decisions based on a range of complex factors: social/individual values, attitudes and beliefs and an ethical component about the ‘intent’ of behaviours that influences the public perspective. An evidence-based approach to e-professionalism is discussed. This study concludes with 'Media8', eight top tips drawn from a theoretical evidence-base for nurses and the nursing profession about how to ‘be’ and e-professional and manage their social media profiles

Development of novel gelatin-binding proteins for targeting therapeutics to cartilage lesions in the osteoarthritic joint

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common chronic joint disease appearing to be increasing in prevalence amongst a population that is now on average living significantly longer. Age is a well-established risk factor for OA. Type II (TII ) gelatin, derived from TII collagen is found abundantly in damaged regions of the OA joint, making it an ideal target for binding to target a therapeutic. Retention and integration of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) within the damaged regions of the OA joint could facilitate not only joint repair, a prolonged improvement in pain and mobility for OA patients, but also could be defined as the first disease modifying OA therapeutic. The collagen binding domain (CBD) of Matrix-metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) binds to TII gelatin and has previously been used by the group as a starting point for designing mutants with increased affinity for TII gelatin. 222 is a chimeric protein previously developed by the Hollander group and proven to bind with an affinity fourteen times greater than CBD to TII gelatin. However, it was concluded that 222 would be challenging to exploit therapeutically because of poor solubility and variable efficacy, therefore the aim of this thesis was to further enhance binding efficacy and/or to improve solubility of 222. Subsequent designed mutant proteins here were intended to be used to coat mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), to promote potent adherence to TII gelatin in the OA joint. In this work a combination of in silico and in vitro experiments were conducted with the aim of developing proteins that bind with a greater affinity to TII gelatin than 222. Firstly, binding residues were assessed in silico for surface exposure and stability, to impact upon binding and be recoverable in vitro. Four mutants were selected to take to in vitro experiments. Asn (N) 11, 69 and 127 (equivalents in the three modules of 222) were, identified as the most important binding residues. As their mutation to Ala (A) caused the greatest decrease in binding affinity, when assessed in vitro using a TII gelatin binding assay. All three important residues were then mutated to every alternate in silico. Docking predicted 222W, with Trp (W) (substituted at position 11, 69 and 127) as the only such mutant predicted in silico to have stronger binding affinity than 222. Use of a Maltose-Binding Protein (MBP) tag was successful in aiding soluble expression of this mutant 222W. However, this mutation seemed also to alter the characteristics of the protein, preventing 3C protease cleavage, meaning protein of interest (POI) alone could not be isolated. Alongside, the CamSol webserver was utilised to design six mutants with increasing solubility. The CamSol tool predicted mutant protein CamSol6 (CS6) to be the most soluble with three substitutions Val (V) 4 to Glu (E); Phe (F) 6 to E; Tyr (Y) 9 to E and an insertion of EEE between Gly (G) 97 and Y98. CS6 was expressed, purified, and characterised for solubility and binding to TII gelatin. An amorphous precipitation assay with polyethylene glycol (PEG) and ammonium sulfate was used to give a measure of apparent solubility. CS6 was more soluble than both CBD and 222, however binding to TII gelatin was reduced compared to 222. The work presented in this thesis has identified key residues important for the binding of 222 to TII gelatin, as well as those important for enhancing solubility. To be used as a therapeutic a protein must be shown to be stable, soluble, demonstrate minimal heterogeneity, minimal contamination as well as being suitable to scale, with consistent and reproducible expression, purification and physiochemistry. Further work is warranted to achieve these properties and develop a strongly binding and more soluble mutant of 222, with a balance of both characteristics for optimal therapeutic potential

Long term improvements in activities of daily living in patients with hemispatial neglect

No abstract available

The Glass House: An Architectural and Structural Analysis and Reimagining of Ludwig Meis van der Rohe\u27s 50x50 House

This portfolio documents the work of four students: Jackson Blake (ARCE), William Fry (ARCH), Andrew Hodge (ARCE), and Gemma Rizzuto (ARCE). It was created for ARCE 415: Interdisciplinary Capstone Project and advised by prof. Edmond Saliklis. The course included a historical and analytical analysis of Ludwig Meis van der Rohe\u27s 50x50 House, which was never constructed. The content of this portfolio primarily consists of a reimagining of Meis van der Rohe\u27s famous concept

Cardiorespiratory Coordination Among Intermediate and Novice Female Collegiate Rowers

Elite rowers present high levels of cardiorespiratory performance. Rowers’ on-water performance can be predicted by a cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) and related measured parameters such as maximum oxygen uptake test (VO2max), ventilation (VE), heart rate (HR), expired fraction of oxygen (FeO2) and carbon dioxide (FeCO2). However, such testing provides little information about the non-linear dynamic interactions during rowing and the qualitative synergetic reconfigurations between cardiovascular and respiratory systems to adjust to the individual rowing performance. Cardiorespiratory coordination (CRC) has been proposed as a method to measure the co-variation among cardiorespiratory variables during a CPET. PURPOSE: To measure and compare the CRC through principal components analysis (PCA) between intermediate (9) and novice (9) rowers. METHODS: Eighteen females, members of NCAA Division II team, participated based on their off-water performance on 6000 m time trial and training status (i.e., Intermediate vs, Novice) in a discontinuous incremental rowing ergometer test to exhaustion. A variety of cardiorespiratory values were recorded. VE, HR, FeO2, and FeCO2 values during the last two stages before volitional fatigue between intermediate and novice rowers were analyzed by PCA on SPSS vs28. The number of principal components (PCs) and the first PC eigenvalues were computed for each group. RESULTS: While 67% of participants in the intermediate group showed one PC, only 22% of the novice group displayed 1 single PC. The formation of an additional PC in N rowers was the result of the shift of FeCO2 from the PC1 cluster of variables. CONCLUSION: Intermediate rowers showed a trend towards lower number of PCs compared to novice rowers, reflecting a higher degree of CRC. These findings point toward a higher efficiency of cardiorespiratory function in intermediate rowers, potentially as a result of improved bicarbonate buffering efficiency during high-intensity exercise. Intermediate rowers presented better gas exchange and relied less on ventilation for a given oxygen consumption. CRC appears as a complementary measure to assess aerobic fitness as well as cardiorespiratory interactions and their response to exercise in rowing may be useful to coaches, athletes and other stakeholder

Is the “end-of-study guess” a valid measure of sham blinding during transcranial direct current stimulation?

Studies using transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) typically incorporate a fade‐in, short‐stimulation, fade‐out sham (placebo) protocol, which is assumed to be indistinct from a 10‐30min active protocol on the scalp. However, many studies report that participants can dissociate active stimulation from sham, even during low‐intensity 1mA currents. We recently identified differences in the perception of an active (10min of 1mA) and a sham (20s of 1mA) protocol that lasted for 5 mins after the cessation of sham. In the present study we assessed whether delivery of a higher‐intensity 2mA current would exacerbate these differences. Two protocols were delivered to 32 adults in a double‐blinded, within‐subjects design (active: 10min of 2mA, and sham: 20s of 2mA), with the anode over the left primary motor cortex and the cathode on the right forehead. Participants were asked “Is the stimulation on?” and “How sure are you?” at 30s intervals during and after stimulation. The differences between active and sham were more consistent and sustained during 2mA than during 1mA. We then quantified how well participants were able to track the presence and absence of stimulation (i.e. their sensitivity) during the experiment using cross‐correlations. Current strength was a good classifier of sensitivity during active tDCS, but exhibited only moderate specificity during sham. The accuracy of the end‐of‐study guess was no better than chance at predicting sensitivity. Our results indicate that the traditional end‐of‐study guess poorly reflects the sensitivity of participants to stimulation, and may not be a valid method of assessing sham blinding

Written evidence from the NCECJS to the HoC Justice Committee: implications of Brexit for justice

Forensic biometric sharing within the EU (Prüm) is a specialist form of cooperation. Nevertheless research into this activity and the context in which it occurs places some of the implications of Brexit into sharp relief: a) Brexit (in any form) will not result in a major reduction in the need for effective criminal justice and security cooperation. The UK will still receive millions of foreign citizens a year and a very small proportion of them will be serious criminals who present major threats. The challenge is to identify this small group within the generally law-abiding and tax-paying crowd. b) The effectiveness, continued extension and form of such cooperation will also have a major impact on the safety and rights of UK citizens abroad, whether they are in the diaspora or simply travelling for work or holidays. c) The value of individual criminal justice and security cooperation agreements (however good) will only be realised fully within a comprehensive framework (e.g. with access to the European Arrest Warrant (EAW)) that is underpinned institutionally (e.g. by Europol and Eurojust) and subject to parliamentary and legal scrutiny. d) UK global economic and political status was significantly reduced on 23rd June and a badly handled Brexit will further diminish this country’s influence. There will be little or no scope for UK bespoke arrangements for police and judicial cooperation or scientific standardisation. e) The resilience of both UK science and technology, and our criminal justice system – including responses to transnational cybercrime - are likely to be weakened significantly if British forensic scientists are no longer influential within EU collaborative scientific research, professional working groups and standardisation decisions. Opting-out of the EU arrangements, such as Prüm, the European Criminal Records Information System (ECRIS) and EAW, to which the UK belongs only after recent Protocol 36 reviews by criminal justice professionals, government and Parliament would be inexplicable and may prove to be reckless