Martinez Guzman v. Second Judicial Dist. Court, 136 Nev. Adv. Op. 12 (Mar. 26, 2020)

The Court clarified the ambiguity of the meaning “territorial jurisdiction,” a term of art found in NRS 172.105. The Court held that NRS 172.105 incorporates Nevada’s venue statutes and grants a grand jury the authority to “inquire into a [criminal] offense so long as the district court that empaneled the grand jury may appropriately adjudicate the defendant’s guilt for that particular offense.

Simulating Cortical Feedback Modulation as Changes in Excitation and Inhibition in a Cortical Circuit Model.

Cortical feedback pathways are hypothesized to distribute context-dependent signals during flexible behavior. Recent experimental work has attempted to understand the mechanisms by which cortical feedback inputs modulate their target regions. Within the mouse whisker sensorimotor system, cortical feedback stimulation modulates spontaneous activity and sensory responsiveness, leading to enhanced sensory representations. However, the cellular mechanisms underlying these effects are currently unknown. In this study we use a simplified neural circuit model, which includes two recurrent excitatory populations and global inhibition, to simulate cortical modulation. First, we demonstrate how changes in the strengths of excitation and inhibition alter the input-output processing responses of our model. Second, we compare these responses with experimental findings from cortical feedback stimulation. Our analyses predict that enhanced inhibition underlies the changes in spontaneous and sensory evoked activity observed experimentally. More generally, these analyses provide a framework for relating cellular and synaptic properties to emergent circuit function and dynamic modulation

The UK’s opposition to the EU is driven by a lack of information and undirected hostility

The UK has always had a contentious relationship with the European Union. John McCormick argues that this relationship has been hampered by popular misunderstandings, driven by a lack of credible information and general hostility towards European integration. He suggests that more attention should be paid to the positive aspects of EU membership and that academics should contribute more to public discussion on the UK’s future in the EU

Investigating staff knowledge of safeguarding and pressure ulcers in care homes

Objective: To investigate whether nursing/care home staff regard pressure ulceration as a safeguarding issue; and to explore reporting mechanisms for pressure ulcers in nursing/care homes. Methods: Sixty five staff members from 50 homes within one clinical commissioning group completed a questionnaire assessing their experiences of avoidable and unavoidable pressure ulcers, grading systems, and systems in place for referral to safeguarding teams. Understanding of safeguarding was assessed in depth by interviews with 11 staff members. Results: Staff observed an average of 2.72 pressure ulcers in their workplaces over the last 12 months; judging 45.6% to be avoidable. Only a minority of respondents reported knowledge of a grading system (mostly the EPUAP/NPUAP system). Most respondents would refer pressure ulcers to the safeguarding team: the existence of a grading system, or guidance, appeared to increase that likelihood. Safeguarding was considered a priority in most homes; interviewees were familiar with the term safeguarding, but some confusion over its meaning was apparent. Quality of written documentation and verbal communication received prior to residents returning from hospital was highlighted. However, respondents expressed concern over lack of information regarding skin integrity. Most staff had received education regarding ulcer prevention or wound management during training, but none reported post-registration training or formal education programmes; with reliance placed on advice of district nurses or tissue viability specialists. Conclusion: Staff within nursing/care homes understand the fundamentals of managing skin integrity and the importance of reporting skin damage; however, national education programmes are needed to develop knowledge and skills to promote patient health-related quality of life, and to reduce the healthcare costs of pressure damage. Further research to investigate understanding, knowledge and skills of nursing/care home staff concerning pressure ulcer development and safeguarding will become increasingly necessary, as levels of the older population who may require assisted living continue to rise

The impact of Scotland’s independence referendum continues to unfold

John McCormick (1)With the Scottish referendum fading behind us, we have yet to fully understand the effects of the Scottish referendum vote on the political character of Britain, on political engagement by the British electorate, on the standing of the different parties, and on how opinion regarding the EU will evolve. John McCormick explores the referendum’s continuing impact

Pressure ulcers: are they are a safeguarding issue in care and nursing homes?

The impact of the Care Act (Department of Health [DH], 2014) and adult legislation such as the Mental Capacity Act (Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards, 2009) has resulted in closer scrutiny of care provision and outcomes for those living in residential and nursing homes

Dramaturgy for the puppet theatre yesterday and today

Until the twentieth century notions of dramaturgy were closely bound up with the Poetics of Aristotle, often leaving out of account less ‘regular’ forms from Shakespeare to the melodrama. From the 17th to the 19th century live actors and puppets could be virtually interchangeable, performing the same or similar repertoires. Adaptation of plays from the actors’ theatre was the general rule. Comparatively few authors wrote directly for the puppet stage, and when they did it was usually under special circumstances. In the nineteenth century a juvenile market began to grow, Two main streams in European puppet theatre are: 1. puppets used in conjunction with story-telling and 2. puppets as substitutes for the live actor. The fact that the puppet is usually a small humanoid figure means that it has always been a valuable vehicle for parody and satire. The theatrical avant-garde that came onto existence in the late 19th century had an enormous impact on puppetry and the direct links between the puppet and the human began to disappear. Gordon Craig’s idea of the complete man of the theatre, which led to the modern one of the director, changed the whole concept of the puppeteer who ceased to be a mere operative becoming instead a creative artist in his or her own right. Increased exposure to other artistic forms, notably the visual arts, also resulted in an increasing divergence of puppetry from mainstream theatre and eventually the puppet theatre, instead of following the actors’ theatre, has come to be a leader in contemporary experimental and alternative theatre