Millions to the Polls: Practical Policies to Fulfill the Freedom to Vote for All Americans

Voting is the bedrock of America's democracy. In a government of, by, and for the people, casting a ballot is the fundamental means through which we all have a say in the political decisions that affect our lives. Yet now, without substantial interventions, the freedom to vote is at great risk.This report contains a comprehensive and bold agenda of 16 policy proposals and common sense reforms. It details policies to help us realize the full promise of a democracy

Continuing professional development of early years managers and practitioners working with children under 3 years of age: technical report

This research into CPD provision for those working with children under 3 years of age was undertaken in the context of the National Review of the Early Years and Childcare Workforce (Scottish Executive, 2006) and the Scottish Parliamentary response (2006) which emphasised that: 'the area which requires most urgent investment is improving the skills level of the workforce, and that although further investment is required in the 3-5 sector, the under 3 sector is the most immediate priority' (SPEC, 2006, para 16). The findings of the research are interpreted in the light of the Standard for Childcare Practice (QAA, 2007) and the more recently published Early Years Framework (Scottish Government, 2008). The Early Years Framework defines early years as pre-birth to 8 years, though it highlights the need for 'a renewed focus on 0-3' (p5)

Jim Crow in New York

More than 108,000 New Yorkers cannot vote because of a conviction in their past. Almost half of these disenfranchised citizens have completed their prison sentence and are living and working in the community

Chemical underpinning of the tea bag index: An examination of the decomposition of tea leaves

Decomposition is a key flux of terrestrial carbon to the atmosphere. Therefore, gaining a better understanding of how plant litter decomposes in soil, and what governs this process, is vital for global climate models. The Tea Bag Index (TBI) was introduced by Keuskamp et al. (2013) as a novel method for measuring litter decomposition rate and stabilisation. The TBI uses two types of tea bags representing fast (green tea) and slow (rooibos tea) decomposition substrates as standardised litter bags. To date, the TBI method has been used in over 2000 locations across the globe. However, before now, there has been no information on how the composition of the tea leaves change during incubation. These data are crucial in determining the validity of the use of the TBI method globally, to ensure the tea leaves decompose in a way that is representative of so-called “native” litters. To provide chemical underpinning of the TBI method, a laboratory incubation of the tea bags was conducted with destructive sampling at 0, 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42, 49, 56, 63, 70, 77, 84, and 91 d. The incubated tea was analysed for total C and N. In addition, C was characterised as alkyl, O-alkyl, aromatic, or carbonyl C using solid-state 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy with cross-polarization and magic angle spinning (CPMAS NMR). The results suggest that changes in carbon in both tea types are comparable to other litter studies, with a net decrease in total C and relative proportion of O-alkyl C fraction, which contains carbohydrates and cellulose. We conclude that the decomposition of tea leaves in the bags used in the TBI is representative of other litters

Continuing professional development of early years managers and practitioners working with children under 3 years of age: executive summary

The Faculty of Education at the University of Strathclyde was commissioned by Learning and Teaching Scotland to undertake research into the continuing professional development provision (CPD) for early years practitioners and managers across Scotland, specifically focusing on provision for thoseworking with children under 3 years of age. The aim of the research was to identify ways in which those working in early years centres might be better supported through effective CPD opportunities, designed to meet the needs ofchildren and their families. The research was carried out between April and September 2008

What is the role of the employer in the development of management skills in the pharmacy profession (Spain)

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Distinct target genes and effector processes appear to be critical for p53-activated responses to acute DNA damage versus p53-mediated tumour suppression

The p53 tumour suppressor is the most frequently mutated gene in human cancer. This transcription factor can be activated by diverse cellular stresses, including DNA damage and oncogene activation. Through transcriptional induction of appropriate target genes, p53 can stimulate activity in a broad range of effector pathways, most notably cell cycle arrest, cellular senescence and apoptotic cell death. Insensitivity to cell death-inducing signals and deregulated proliferation are two key hallmarks of cancer cells. Given that p53 inhibits proliferation and induces apoptosis, it was widely believed that these processes are the most critical ones for p53-mediated tumour suppression. However, this dogma has been challenged. In striking contrast to p53-deficient mice, which all develop tumours before 250 days of age, mutant mice in which expression of the p53 target genes that are critical for induction of cell cycle arrest and apoptosis is impaired or abrogated are not cancer-prone. This demonstrates that distinct effector processes are critical for the p53-mediated acute response to DNA damage versus p53-mediated tumour suppression. The discovery that cell cycle arrest, senescence and apoptosis are not essential for p53-mediated tumour suppression re-launches the search for the p53 target genes and effector processes that are critical to prevent tumour development, with coordination of DNA repair being a leading contender