On ‘Organized Crime’ in the illicit antiquities trade: moving beyond the definitional debate

The extent to which ‘organized crime’ is involved in illicit antiquities trafficking is unknown and frequently debated. This paper explores the significance and scale of the illicit antiquities trade as a unique transnational criminal phenomenon that is often said to be perpetrated by and exhibit traits of so-called ‘organized crime.’ The definitional debate behind the term ‘organized crime’ is considered as a potential problem impeding our understanding of its existence or extent in illicit antiquities trafficking, and a basic progression-based model is then suggested as a new tool to move beyond the definitional debate for future research that may help to elucidate the actors, processes and criminal dynamics taking place within the illicit antiquities trade from source to market. The paper concludes that researchers should focus not on the question of whether organized criminals- particularly in a traditionally conceived, mafia-type stereotypical sense- are involved in the illicit antiquities trade, but instead on the structure and progression of antiquities trafficking itself that embody both organized and criminal dynamics

Endothelin ETA receptors predominate in chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension.

AIMS: Endothelin-1 levels are raised in chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension. Our aim in this study was to identify the presence of endothelin receptors in patients with CTEPH by analysing tissue removed at pulmonary endarterectomy. MAIN METHODS: Pulmonary endarterectomy tissue cross-sections were analysed using autoradiography with [(125)I]-ET-1 using ligands selective for ETA or ETB to determine sub-type distribution. The precise cellular localisation of ETA and ETB receptors was determined using selective antisera to both sub-types and compared with haematoxylin and eosin, Elastic Van Gieson and smooth muscle actin labelled sections. KEY FINDINGS: Two patterns of ET-1 binding were found. In sections with frequent recanalised channels, ET-1 bound to the smooth muscle cells surrounding the channels. In sections where there was less organised thrombus with no obvious re-canalisation, minimal ET-1 binding was observed. Some contractile type smooth muscle cells not associated with recanalised channels and diffusely spread throughout the PEA material were associated with ET receptor antibody binding on immunohistochemistry. There was a greater expression of the ETA receptor type in the specimens. SIGNIFICANCE: The presence of ET-1 receptors in the chronic thrombus in proximal CTEPH suggests ET-1 could act not only on the distal vasculopathy in the unobstructed vessels but may also stimulate smooth muscle cell proliferation within chronic clot. The abundance of ET receptors within the tissue provides evidence that the ET pathway is involved in the pathology of chronic thrombus reorganisation leading to CTEPH providing a rationale for the repurposing of ET receptor antagonists in the treatment of this condition.We acknowledge the support of the referring UK centres for PH; the Pulmonary Hypertension Association-UK, Wellcome Trust award WT107715/Z/15/Z, Programmes in Translational Medicines and Therapeutics (085686) and in Metabolic and Cardiovascular Disease (096822/Z/11/Z), the British Heart Foundation PG/09/050/27734, MRC and the NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre. We also acknowledge the support of the Cambridge NIHR BRC Cell Phenotyping Hub and the Papworth Hospital Research Tissue Bank.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Elsevier via https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lfs.2016.02.03

Classifying Human Leg Motions with Uniaxial Piezoelectric Gyroscopes

This paper provides a comparative study on the different techniques of classifying human leg motions that are performed using two low-cost uniaxial piezoelectric gyroscopes worn on the leg. A number of feature sets, extracted from the raw inertial sensor data in different ways, are used in the classification process. The classification techniques implemented and compared in this study are: Bayesian decision making (BDM), a rule-based algorithm (RBA) or decision tree, least-squares method (LSM), k-nearest neighbor algorithm (k-NN), dynamic time warping (DTW), support vector machines (SVM), and artificial neural networks (ANN). A performance comparison of these classification techniques is provided in terms of their correct differentiation rates, confusion matrices, computational cost, and training and storage requirements. Three different cross-validation techniques are employed to validate the classifiers. The results indicate that BDM, in general, results in the highest correct classification rate with relatively small computational cost

Mechanistic studies of the biogenesis and folding of outer membrane proteins in vitro and in vivo: what have we learned to date?

Research into the mechanisms by which proteins fold into their native structures has been on-going since the work of Anfinsen in the 1960s. Since that time, the folding mechanisms of small, water-soluble proteins have been well characterised. By contrast, progress in understanding the biogenesis and folding mechanisms of integral membrane proteins has lagged significantly because of the need to create a membrane mimetic environment for folding studies in vitro and the difficulties in finding suitable conditions in which reversible folding can be achieved. Improved knowledge of the factors that promote membrane protein folding and disfavour aggregation now allows studies of folding into lipid bilayers in vitro to be performed. Consequently, mechanistic details and structural information about membrane protein folding are now emerging at an ever increasing pace. Using the panoply of methods developed for studies of the folding of water-soluble proteins. This review summarises current knowledge of the mechanisms of outer membrane protein biogenesis and folding into lipid bilayers in vivo and in vitro and discusses the experimental techniques utilised to gain this information. The emerging knowledge is beginning to allow comparisons to be made between the folding of membrane proteins with current understanding of the mechanisms of folding of water-soluble proteins

Work in Britain’s informal economy: learning from road-side hand car washes

The UK has over 10,000 Hand Car Washes (HCWs). This article examines two research questions; what do HCWs reveal about the informalization of employment? and what is the prospect of regulation of them? Setting HCWs in a theoretical framework shows that they are part of a growing industry It is becoming an increasingly familiar and visible part of the economy, and is able to use informalization in employment where control of labour costs is a key factor. Employers make a strategic choice to engage precarious and vulnerable usually migrant labour securing further competitive advantage at the cost of pronounced labour exploitation and long hours – the tendency towards informalization. Therein a low-cost business model disciplines competition to usurp higher productivity mechanized car washing

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia: distinct and overlapping changes in eating behaviour and metabolism.

Metabolic changes incorporating fluctuations in weight, insulin resistance, and cholesterol concentrations have been identified in several neurodegenerative disorders. Whether these changes result from the neurodegenerative process affecting brain regions necessary for metabolic regulation or whether they drive the degenerative process is unknown. Emerging evidence from epidemiological, clinical, pathological, and experimental studies emphasises a range of changes in eating behaviours and metabolism in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). In ALS, metabolic changes have been linked to disease progression and prognosis. Furthermore, changes in eating behaviour that affect metabolism have been incorporated into the diagnostic criteria for FTD, which has some clinical and pathological overlap with ALS. Whether the distinct and shared metabolic and eating changes represent a component of the proposed spectrum of the two diseases is an intriguing possibility. Moreover, future research should aim to unravel the complex connections between eating, metabolism, and neurodegeneration in ALS and FTD, and aim to understand the potential for targeting modifiable risk factors in disease development and progression.This work was supported by funding to Forefront, a collaborative research group dedicated to the study of frontotemporal dementia and motor neurone disease, from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (NHMRC) program grant (#1037746 to GH, MK and JH) and the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders Memory Node (#CE110001021 to OP and JH) and other grants/sources (NHMRC project grant #1003139). We are grateful to the research participants involved with the ForeFront research studies. RA is a Royal Australasian College of Physicians PhD scholar and MND Australia PhD scholar. MI is an ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award Fellow (#DE130100463). OP is an NHMRC Career Development Research Fellow (#1022684). GH is a NHMRC Senior Principal Research Fellow (#1079679). L.M.I. is a NHMRC Senior Research Fellow (#1003083).This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Elsevier at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1474-4422(15)00380-4

Understanding conflict-related sexual violence and the ‘everyday’ experience of conflict through witness testimonies.

The testimonies of witnesses who testify before criminal courts provide crucial insights into the situated experience of conflict-related sexual violence. Witness testimonies highlight the complex realities and everyday lives of individuals caught up in situations of armed conflict. The evidence presented by witnesses can provide vital insights into lived experiences of wartime violence, and reveal the seemingly mundane strategies and tactics adopted by victims to cope with, survive and resist the violent and coercive circumstances of war. This article foregrounds conflict-related sexual violence witness testimonies as highly significant sources of knowledge of the everyday experiences of conflict. It sets out a bottom-up, mixed-method approach for identifying and analysing the experiential accounts of those who lived through conflict-related sexual violence, while engaging with the opportunities and challenges of using witness testimony. Our approach unsettles existing notions of ‘the everyday’ in Peace & Conflict Studies as a synonym for narratives and practices of violence, justice and peacebuilding that are private, informal and largely hidden from view. Understanding witness testimonies requires conceptualising the everyday as an amalgam of formal and informal practices, as accessible through both elite and lay knowledges and as documented in both public and private (e.g. redacted) sources. It requires challenging taken-for-granted dichotomies that are frequently invoked to understand conflict and peace

Épisodes d’inactivité et revenus criminels dans une trajectoire de délinquance

L’instabilité de l’activité criminelle dans le temps est déjà bien documentée. On connaît toutefois peu les circonstances qui expliquent ces variations à court terme. Une meilleure connaissance de ces facteurs est souhaitable puisqu’il est possible que les transitions et les changements à court terme précèdent les points tournants des carrières criminelles. Les conditions qui rendent compte d’une interruption temporaire des activités peuvent, par exemple, contribuer à expliquer un désistement définitif. L’étude se fonde sur les trajectoires de 172 délinquants impliqués dans des crimes à but lucratif et analyse les variations mensuelles de leurs revenus criminels ainsi que les épisodes d’inactivité criminelle à l’intérieur d’une période fenêtre de 36 mois. La méthode des calendriers d’histoire de vie combinée aux modèles hiérarchiques permet d’examiner conjointement le rôle de facteurs statiques (les caractéristiques individuelles des sujets) et dynamiques (les circonstances de vie). Les résultats mettent en évidence l’importance des événements qui marquent le style de vie des délinquants et des paramètres qui caractérisent l’engagement criminel dans la compréhension des variations dans les trajectoires à l’étude. Ils soulignent également l’importance de la finalité derrière les activités criminelles pour expliquer la décision des délinquants de cesser temporaire leurs activités illicites