483 research outputs found
Explaining Criminal Careers: Implications for Justice Policy
Explaining Criminal Careers presents a simple quantitative theory of crime, conviction and reconviction, the assumptions of the theory are derived directly from a detailed analysis of cohort samples drawn from the âUK Home Officeâ Offenders Index (OI). Mathematical models based on the theory, together with population trends, are used to make: exact quantitative predictions of features of criminal careers; aggregate crime levels; the prison population; and to explain the age-crime curve, alternative explanations are shown not to be supported by the data. Previous research is reviewed, clearly identifying the foundations of the current work. Using graphical techniques to identify mathematical regularities in the data, recidivism (risk) and frequency (rate) of conviction are analysed and modelled. These models are brought together to identify three categories of offender: high-risk / high-rate, high-risk / low-rate and low-risk / low-rate. The theory is shown to rest on just 6 basic assumptions. Within this theoretical framework the seriousness of offending, specialisation or versatility in offence types and the psychological characteristics of offenders are all explored suggesting that the most serious offenders are a random sample from the risk/rate categories but that those with custody later in their careers are predominantly high-risk/high-rate. In general offenders are shown to be versatile rather than specialist and can be categorised using psychological profiles. The policy implications are drawn out highlighting the importance of conviction in desistance from crime and the absence of any additional deterrence effect of imprisonment. The use of the theory in evaluation of interventions is demonstrated
A re-investigation of the path of carbon in photosynthesis utilizing GC/MS methodology. Unequivocal verification of the participation of octulose phosphates in the pathway
A GC/EIMS/SIM methodology has been developed to re-examine the path of carbon in photosynthesis. Exposing isolated spinach chloroplasts to (13)CO(2 )on a solid support for a defined period followed by quenching and work-up provided a mixture of labelled sugar phosphates. After enzymatic dephosphorylation and derivatization, the Mox-TMS sugars were analysed using the above method. The purpose of the study was to try to calculate the atom% enrichment of (13)C in as many of the individual carbons in each of the derivatized sugars as was practical using diagnostic fragment ions. In the event, only one 45Â s experiment provided sufficient data to enable a range of enrichment values to be calculated. This confirmed that D-glycero-D-altro-octulose phosphate was present in the chloroplasts and was heavily labelled in the C4, C5 and C6 positions, in keeping with the hypothesis that it had an inclusive role and a labelling pattern consistent with a new modified pathway of carbon in photosynthesis
Gemini Imaging of the Host Galaxies of Changing-Look Quasars
Changing-look quasars are a newly-discovered class of luminous active
galactic nuclei that undergo rapid (10 year) transitions between Type
1 and Type 1.9/2, with an associated change in their continuum emission. We
characterize the host galaxies of four faded changing-look quasars using
broadband optical imaging. We use \textit{gri} images obtained with the Gemini
Multi Object Spectrograph (GMOS) on Gemini North to characterize the surface
brightness profiles of the quasar hosts and search for [O III]
emission from spatially extended regions, or
voorwerpjes, with the goal of using them to examine past luminosity history.
Although we do not detect, voorwerpjes surrounding the four quasar host
galaxies, we take advantage of the dim nuclear emission to characterize the
colors and morphologies of the host galaxies. Three of the four galaxies show
morphological evidence of merger activity or tidal features in their residuals.
The three galaxies which are not highly distorted are fit with a single
S\'ersic profile to characterize their overall surface brightness profiles. The
single-S\'ersic fits give intermediate S\'ersic indices between the of
disk galaxies and the of ellipticals. On a color-magnitude diagram, our
changing-look quasar host galaxies reside in the blue cloud, with other AGN
host galaxies and star-forming galaxies. On a color-S\'ersic index diagram the
changing-look quasar hosts reside with other AGN hosts in the "green valley".
Our analysis suggests that the hosts of changing-look quasars are predominantly
disrupted or merging galaxies that resemble AGN hosts, rather than inactive
galaxies.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figure
A novel strategy to reduce very late HIV diagnosis in high-prevalence areas in South-West England:serious incident audit
The structure of protostellar envelopes derived from submillimeter continuum images
High dynamic range imaging of submillimeter dust emission from the envelopes
of eight young protostars in the Taurus and Perseus star-forming regions has
been carried out using the SCUBA submillimeter camera on the James Clerk
Maxwell Telescope. Good correspondence between the spectral classifications of
the protostars and the spatial distributions of their dust emission is
observed, in the sense that those with cooler spectral energy distributions
also have a larger fraction of the submillimeter flux originating in an
extended envelope compared with a disk. This results from the cool sources
having more massive envelopes rather than warm sources having larger disks.
Azimuthally-averaged radial profiles of the dust emission are used to derive
the power-law index of the envelope density distributions, p (defined by rho
proportional to r^-p), and most of the sources are found to have values of p
consistent with those predicted by models of cloud collapse. However, the
youngest protostars in our sample, L1527 and HH211-mm, deviate significantly
from the theoretical predictions, exhibiting values of p somewhat lower than
can be accounted for by existing models. For L1527 heating of the envelope by
shocks where the outflow impinges on the surrounding medium may explain our
result. For HH211-mm another explanation is needed, and one possibility is that
a shallow density profile is being maintained in the outer envelope by magnetic
fields and/or turbulence. If this is the case star formation must be determined
by the rate at which the support is lost from the cloud, rather than the
hydrodynamical properties of the envelope, such as the sound speed.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa
BNip3 regulates mitochondrial function and lipid metabolism in the liver
BNip3 localizes to the outer mitochondrial membrane, where it functions in mitophagy and mitochondrial dynamics. While the BNip3 protein is constitutively expressed in adult liver from fed mice, we have shown that its expression is superinduced by fasting of mice, consistent with a role in responses to nutrient deprivation. Loss of BNip3 resulted in increased lipid synthesis in the liver that was associated with elevated ATP levels, reduced AMP-regulated kinase (AMPK) activity, and increased expression of lipogenic enzymes. Conversely, there was reduced ÎČ-oxidation of fatty acids in BNip3 null liver and also defective glucose output under fasting conditions. These metabolic defects in BNip3 null liver were linked to increased mitochondrial mass and increased hepatocellular respiration in the presence of glucose. However, despite elevated mitochondrial mass, an increased proportion of mitochondria exhibited loss of mitochondrial membrane potential, abnormal structure, and reduced oxygen consumption. Elevated reactive oxygen species, inflammation, and features of steatohepatitis were also observed in the livers of BNip3 null mice. These results identify a role for BNip3 in limiting mitochondrial mass and maintaining mitochondrial integrity in the liver that has consequences for lipid metabolism and disease
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