The Regulatory Balancing Act

The Legal Services Act of 2007 created a considerable shift in the regulatory boundaries of the profession along with emergent ethical issues and increased risk. This paper examnines these implications

Investigating Interactions of the PKCα C1B Domain with Lipid Bilayers and Activators: An EPR Site-Directed Spin-Labeling and Relaxation Study

It has been previously shown that activation of PKCα on the leading edge membrane of a polarized chemotaxing cell contributes to a positive feedback loop that sustains leading edge formation and facilitates eukaryotic cell movement. As a result of its vital role in this process and other known signaling pathways, PKCα has been studied to better understand both normal cell function and the various diseases in which PKCα is an important player, including cancer. A recent single molecule study on PKCα has shown that, once bound to the membrane bilayer, the PKCα C1B domain plays a critical role in the final step of kinase activation on the target membrane. Specifically, C1B is recruited to the membrane by its binding to the activating lipid diacylglycerol (DAG) to activate the kinase. However, the key interactions of C1B with the lipid bilayer and its known lipid activators including DAG and phorbol esters are still under investigation. In this study, EPR site-directed spin labeling and power saturation measurements were employed to determine membrane insertion depth values for the PKCα C1B domain on simple lipid bilayers containing PC and PS in the presence and absence of known lipid activators DAG and PMA (the latter a phorbol ester). These depth values were then compared to protein-to-membrane depth values previously obtained through molecular dynamic (MD) simulations of the C1B domain by others, and to diffusion rates previously measured for C1B bound to the same lipid mixtures by others. All three approaches yielded a common trend in binding depths for C1B, indicating that C1B adopts a shallow docking depth when bound to PMA and a deeper docking depth when in a membrane-bound, activator-free state or bound to DAG on the lipid membrane bilayer. The present EPR-determined membrane depths provide the most direct measure of this shallower docking geometry on PMA-containing membranes. The shallow geometry may well play an important role in the higher affinity of C1B for PMA compared to DAG, where additional membrane penetration may have an energetic cost. The higher affinity for PMA superactivates PKCα and plays a central role in well established ability of phorbol esters to promote tumor formation

V s and density structure beneath the Colorado Plateau constrained by gravity anomalies and joint inversions of receiver function and phase velocity data

The Colorado Plateau is a physiographic province in the western US with an average elevation of ∼1.9 km where, in contrast to neighboring provinces, there is little evidence of large scale tectonic deformation or magmatism. Recent availability of Earthscope/USArray seismic data allow us to better examine the crust and upper mantle structure beneath the region and test proposed explanations for the plateau's uplift and relative stability. Using phase velocities for fundamental mode Rayleigh waves and P receiver functions, we perform over 800 joint inversions for 1-D shear wave velocity VS profiles sampling the plateau and surrounding regions down to 150 km depth. We image a sharp change in crustal thickness at the western edge of the Colorado Plateau with a more gradual increase eastward moving into the Rocky Mountains. A relatively thick (≳100 km) lithosphere beneath the plateau extends into the Rocky Mountains to the north. We use empirical scaling relations to estimate densities from our VS results, and predict the associated gravity anomalies, which are inconsistent with the observed distribution of the Bouguer gravity anomalies. We somewhat reconcile the prediction and observations by assuming that lateral density variations below 50 km can be ignored and the lithospheric root is therefore neutrally buoyant. While there is some evidence for small scale convection and lithospheric removal at its edges, the shape of the lithospheric mantle anomaly is consistent with a large scale uplift of the plateau by heating since removal of the Farallon slab. We conclude that the lithospheric root is key to the long term stability of the Colorado Plateau, leading to a colder, stronger crust

Towards the 3D Web with Open Simulator

Continuing advances and reduced costs in computational power, graphics processors and network bandwidth have led to 3D immersive multi-user virtual worlds becoming increasingly accessible while offering an improved and engaging Quality of Experience. At the same time the functionality of the World Wide Web continues to expand alongside the computing infrastructure it runs on and pages can now routinely accommodate many forms of interactive multimedia components as standard features - streaming video for example. Inevitably there is an emerging expectation that the Web will expand further to incorporate immersive 3D environments. This is exciting because humans are well adapted to operating in 3D environments and it is challenging because existing software and skill sets are focused around competencies in 2D Web applications. Open Simulator (OpenSim) is a freely available open source tool-kit that empowers users to create and deploy their own 3D environments in the same way that anyone can create and deploy a Web site. Its characteristics can be seen as a set of references as to how the 3D Web could be instantiated. This paper describes experiments carried out with OpenSim to better understand network and system issues, and presents experience in using OpenSim to develop and deliver applications for education and cultural heritage. Evaluation is based upon observations of these applications in use and measurements of systems both in the lab and in the wild.Postprin

Flood risk management in sponge cities:The role of integrated simulation and 3D visualization

The Sponge City concept has been promoted as a major programme of work to address increasing flood risk in urban areas, in combination with wider benefits for water resources and urban renewal. However, realization of the concept requires collaborative engagement with a wide range of professionals and with affected communities. Visualization can play an important role in this process. In this research, a sponge city flood simulation and forecasting system has been built which combines hydrological data, topographic data, GIS data and hydrodynamic models in real-time and interactive display in a three-dimensional environment. Actual and design flood events in a pilot sponge city have been simulated. The validation results show that the simulated urban water accumulation process is consistent with the actual monitoring data. Use of advanced virtual reality technology can enable simulations to be placed in the wider design context including enhanced awareness of multiple functions of urban ecosystems. This procedure can therefore reduce the information communication gap and encourage innovation regarding low impact development required for sponge city construction

Cessation of deliberate self harm following eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing: A case report

We present a case report of an eighteen year old female patient presenting with a psychological trauma related complaint. Part of the manifestation of the complaint included acts of self cutting over a number of years. Following two sessions of Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing with one of the authors (DM) her self cutting ceased. This is maintained at thirteen months follow up. We conclude that Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing may be an effective treatment option in reducing repeat self harm where traumatic events are noted to be the precursor to deliberate self harm

The challenge of plastic management for waste electrical and electric equipment recycling in the Global South: a case comparison between Europe and Latin America

Countries with emerging legislation on the waste electrical and electric equipment (WEEE), but limited infrastructure, may find in other, more robust, systems the tools to develop adaptable and socioeconomically viable management schemes. Additives found in the plastics in electronic goods, such as brominated flame retardants (BFRs), are components of a safety system, but introduce characteristics that result in their waste being hazardous. Established and emerging regulatory systems need to implement legislation that impacts the management of WEEE, to reduce risks to human health and the environment, while maximising opportunities for resource recovery from widely varying materials. To assess the context of developed and emerging regulatory systems, a baseline study was undertaken of WEEE plastics in Scotland and Uruguay. For the identification of BFRs in plastics, an internationally validated screening methodology using X-ray fluorescence was adopted at different processing operations. It was observed that, using a threshold of 830 mg/kg for Br as a BFR tracer, in Scotland, more than 70% of the plastics would be recyclable, while, in Uruguay, that fraction dropped to 50%. These results, and the wider literature discussion, highlight the impact that regulatory frameworks have on the quality and recyclability of recovered material. We identify future actions to be considered by policy-makers for a more sustainable regulatory approach

Co-seismic deformation of deep slabs based on summed CMT data

We assess the co-seismic deformation inferred from earthquake moment tensor solutions for subducting slabs at depths greater than 50 km globally. We rotate each moment tensor into a local slab reference frame, then sum tensors within 50 km depth bins to approximate long term deformation characteristics. This builds upon previous analyses by using the up-to-date global Centroid Moment Tensor catalog, incorporating a more complete slab geometry, and focusing on the 3-D aspects of slab deformation. Results show a general consistency with Isacks and Molnar (1969), who found that most slabs can be divided into intermediate-extensional, intermediate-extensional-deep-compressional, and intermediate to deep-compressional categories. Exceptions to these three categories can be related to slab bending in the top 100 km, plate convergence that is oblique to the trench normal direction, and regions of higher focal mechanism heterogeneity. The regions of higher focal mechanism heterogeneity appear where there are along-strike changes in slab geometry and/or evidence of double-seismic zones. We find that the sense of deformation in the intermediate strain axis direction is opposite to that of the down-dip direction, in agreement with Kuge and Kawakatsu (1993). By quantitative comparison to numerical models of global mantle flow, we show that these observations are consistent with deformation of viscous slabs responding to their own negative buoyancy and an upper to lower mantle viscosity increas

Spitzer Space Telescope evidence in NGC 6791: no super-mass-loss at super-solar metallicity to explain helium white dwarfs?

We use archival Spitzer Space Telescope photometry of the old, super-solar metallicity massive open cluster NGC 6791 to look for evidence of enhanced mass loss, which has been postulated to explain the optical luminosity function and low white dwarf masses in this benchmark cluster. We find a conspicuous lack of evidence for prolificacy of circumstellar dust production that would have been expected to accompany such mass loss. We also construct the optical and infrared luminosity functions, and demonstrate that these fully agree with theoretical expectations. We thus conclude that there is no evidence for the mass loss of super-solar metallicity red giants to be sufficiently high that they can avoid the helium flash at the tip of the red giant branch.Comment: accepted for publication in ApJ Letter