Continuing Criminal Enterprise Statute: Effect of Forfeiture Provisions on Third Parties

The author discusses the application of the federal forfeiture provisions in the Continuing Criminal Enterprise Statute when property subject to forfeiture is transferred to a third party prior to an indictment. After a general discussion of section 848, the comment centers around the decisions of United States v. Veon and United States v. Long. The author advocates adherence to the Veon result which does not permit forfeiture once the property is transferred, before indictment, to a third party

An Experimental Investigation Into the Design and Perception of Line Symbol Series on Route Planning Maps

Recent estimates by the Department of Transport have suggested that up t

Rho-associated kinase signalling and the cancer microenvironment: novel biological implications and therapeutic opportunities

The Rho/ROCK pathway is involved in numerous pivotal cellular processes that have made it an area of intense study in cancer medicine, however, Rho-associated coiled-coil containing protein kinase (ROCK) inhibitors are yet to make an appearance in the clinical cancer setting. Their performance as an anti-cancer therapy has been varied in pre-clinical studies, however, they have been shown to be effective vasodilators in the treatment of hypertension and post-ischaemic stroke vasospasm. This review addresses the various roles the Rho/ROCK pathway plays in angiogenesis, tumour vascular tone and reciprocal feedback from the tumour microenvironment and explores the potential utility of ROCK inhibitors as effective vascular normalising agents. ROCK inhibitors may potentially enhance the delivery and efficacy of chemotherapy agents and improve the effectiveness of radiotherapy. As such, repurposing of these agents as adjuncts to standard treatments may significantly improve outcomes for patients with cancer. A deeper understanding of the controlled and dynamic regulation of the key components of the Rho pathway may lead to effective use of the Rho/ROCK inhibitors in the clinical management of cancer

Effect of trunnion roughness and length on the modular taper junction strength under typical intraoperative assembly forces

Modular hip implants are at risk of fretting-induced postoperative complications most likely initiated by micromotion between adjacent implant components. A stable fixation between ball head and stem-neck taper is critical to avoid excessive interface motions. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify the effect of trunnion roughness and length on the modular taper strength under typical intraoperative assembly forces. Custom-made Titanium trunnions (standard/mini taper, smooth/grooved surface finish) were assembled with modular Cobalt-chromium heads by impaction with peak forces ranging from 2kN to 6kN. After each assembly process these were disassembled with a materials testing machine to detect the pull-off force as a measure for the taper strength. As expected, the pull-off forces increased with rising peak assembly force (p < 0.001). For low and moderate assembly forces, smooth standard tapers offered higher pull-off forces compared to grooved tapers (p < 0.038). In the case of an assembly force of 2kN, mini tapers showed a higher taper strength than standard ones (p=0.037). The results of this study showed that smooth tapers provided a higher strength for taper junctions. This higher taper strength may reduce the risk of fretting-related complications especially in the most common range of intraoperative assembly forces

Reversibility in the group of homeomorphisms of the circle

The group of orientation-preserving homeomorphisms of the circle is simple, and, because there are non-trivial involutions in this group, it must be generated by its involutions. We show that, in this group of homeomorphisms, each element can be expressed as a product of three involutions. We also characterise those elements of the group that can be expressed as a composite of two involutions, and perform a similar characterisation in the full group of homeomorphisms of the circle

What Do We Talk About When We Talk About Credibility? Refugee Appeals in Italy

Introducing the volume, the editors characterise the European asylum 'crisis' as a specific form of 'moral panic'. National policies display tensions between securitisation models emphasising control of refugees because of perceived risks they pose; and rights models focusing on asylum seekers as unique individuals. Approaches to asylum decision-making also reflect each country's legal culture and political circumstances, generating anomalies both in the procedures adopted and in national rates of refugee recognition, while actual practice emerges from the multifaceted interaction of numerous legal and quasi-legal social fields. An ethnographic approach is best suited to disentangle processes of such complexity. Finally, the introduction explains the organisation of the book into sections focusing on 'actors', 'communication', and 'decision-making', and summarises how each chapter contributes to those themes