The Corruption of Benjamin Boothby

The fifteen-year judicial career of Justice Boothby of the Supreme Court of South Australia all but annulled the colonys constitutional foundations. A contemporary declared that his honour was `literally at war with every institution in the colony. 1 Historians have studied the legal reasoning he deployed to strike down local legislation and legal administration and have analysed its consequences for colonial law, governance and enterprise. As a result, we know a great deal about what Boothby did and the effect he had. Less has been said about what Alex Castles called Boothbys `personal moral justification. 2 This paper concludes that Benjamin Boothby benefited from money received indirectly from a litigant before him

The rising cost of hospital care for children with gastroparesis: 2004-2013.

BackgroundThe cost of hospital care for adults with gastroparesis (GP) is increasing. Our objective was to evaluate the cost of hospital care for children with GP.MethodsUsing the Pediatric Health Information System, we selected hospitalizations with a diagnosis of GP (ICD-9 536.3), dyspepsia and other specified disorders of function of stomach (DYS, 536.8) and unspecified functional disorder of stomach (UFD, 536.9) from 2004 to 2013. We recorded dates of hospitalization, demographics, costs, and length of stay (LOS).Key resultsFrom 2004 to 2013, 4015 patients were admitted for GP (54.2% female, median age 8 years). Total cost of hospitalization for GP increased 5.8 fold from $6 185 390 to$35 654 075 (p = 0.0001). Cost per hospitalization did not change. Cost of initial hospitalization was highest in patients 0-5 years and lowest in patients 16-21 years (p < 0.0001). Number of hospitalizations each year for GP increased from 252 to 1310 (p < 0.0001) and unique patients hospitalized increased from 174 to 723 (p < 0.0001). Number of hospitalizations and unique patients for DYS/UFD also increased (p < 0.0001). LOS for GP did not change with time. Females and younger GP patients had more repeat hospitalizations (p < 0.0001, p < 0.0001).Conclusions & inferencesThe financial burden of hospitalization for pediatric GP has increased dramatically from 2004 to 2013, driven by a rise in number of hospitalizations and unique patients hospitalized each year. Cost and LOS per hospitalization remain stable. Unlike in adults, hospitalizations for DYS/UFD have also increased, suggesting that the increase in hospitalizations for GP is not secondary to changing diagnostic practices

Intellectual disability, unusual facial morphology and hand anomalies in sibs

Here we report on a Portuguese family with three sisters who shared moderate intellectual disability, unusual facial morphology (short palpebral fissures; broad nasal tip; thin upper and lower vermillion; broad and pointed chin) and hand anomalies in two of them (short left third and fifth right metacarpals in one case; marked syndactyly between the third and fourth fingers in another). One of the sisters had microcephaly and short stature, and the other two were obese. Obesity and somewhat similar facial features were also present in the otherwise healthy mother. Despite the overlap with several known syndromes (Albright osteodystrophy; Filippi syndrome; Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome; microdeletion 2q37), we suggest this condition is previously unreported, and most likely displays an autosomal recessive pattern of inheritance

Intellectual disability, coarse face, relative macrocephaly, and cerebellar hypotrophy in two sisters

We report on two Portuguese sisters with a very similar phenotype characterized by severe intellectual disability, absent speech, relative macrocephaly, coarse face, cerebellar hypotrophy, and severe ataxia. Additional common features include increased thickness of the cranial vault, delayed dental eruption, talipes equino-varus, clinodactyly, and camptodactyly of the fifth finger. The older sister has retinal dystrophy and the younger sister has short stature. Their parents are consanguineous. We suggest this condition constitutes a previously unreported autosomal recessive entity

Coordinated Fc-effector and neutralization functions in HIV-infected children define a window of opportunity for HIV vaccination

OBJECTIVES: Antibody function has been extensively studied in HIV-infected adults but is relatively understudied in children. Emerging data suggests enhanced development of broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) in children but Fc effector functions in this group are less well defined. Here, we profiled overall antibody function in HIV-infected children. DESIGN: Plasma samples from a cross-sectional study of 50 antiretroviral therapy-naive children (aged 1-11 years) vertically infected with HIV-1 clade A were screened for HIV-specific binding antibody levels and neutralizing and Fc-mediated functions. METHODS: Neutralization breadth was determined against a globally representative panel of 12 viruses. HIV-specific antibody levels were determined using a multiplex assay. Fc-mediated antibody functions measured were antibody-dependent: cellular phagocytosis (ADCP); neutrophil phagocytosis (ADNP); complement deposition (ADCD) and natural killer function (ADNK). RESULTS: All children had HIV gp120-specific antibodies, largely of the IgG1 subtype. Fifty-four percent of the children exhibited more than 50% neutralization breadth, with older children showing significantly broader neutralization activity. Apart from ADCC, observed only in 16% children, other Fc-mediated functions were common (>58% children). Neutralization breadth correlated with Fc-mediated functions suggesting shared determinants of enhanced antibody function exist. CONCLUSIONS: These results are consistent with previous observations that children may develop high levels of neutralization breadth. Furthermore, the striking association between neutralization breadth and Fc effector function suggests that HIV vaccination in children could yield multifunctional antibodies. Paediatric populations may therefore provide an ideal window of opportunity for HIV vaccination strategies

Tensile Behaviour of S690QL and S960QL under High Strain Rate

Despite offering significant strength-to-weight advantages, high-strength structural steels, such as S690QL and S960QL, are used only in limited offshore applications. This is due to the lack of material characterisation in regard to their tensile behaviour, with little data available on loading rates other than those typically experienced offshore. The concern is that high strength structural steels with high yield-to-tensile ratio >0.90 are obtained at the expense of ductility and strain-hardening capacity. In this paper the tensile properties from two high strength structural steels were studied and characterised over a range of strain rates and, the results are compared against the performance of mild steel. High strength structural steels with yield-to-tensile ratios in excess of 0.90 were significantly less sensitive to the effect of strain rate than mild steel with yield-to-tensile < 0.85 at ambient temperature. The yield stress of S690QL and S960QL moderately increase to about 9% and 6% respectively from quasi-static to 100 s-1 strain rate, which is within typical strain rates encountered in primary offshore structural applications

Influence of Loading Rate on the Fracture Toughness of High Strength Structural Steel

It is known that rates of loading influence the fracture behaviour of most ferritic steels. High loading rates could change a stable ductile tearing behaviour to an unstable brittle fracture by altering the ductile-to-brittle transition curve. This is predicted to be material dependent, with lower strength structural steels showing a larger tensile property loading rate sensitivity compared to high strength structural steels. A programme of mechanical testing was carried out on S690QL and S960QL to determine the influence of loading rate on the fracture behaviour of high strength structural steels with yield strength > 690 MPa and yield-to-tensile ratio above 0.90. The loading rates considered are those anticipated in offshore in-service conditions, with K-rates up to the order of magnitude of 106 MPa√m/s. Results from tensile tests show that the strengths of these grade of steels are relatively unaffected by the effect of loading rate. However, brittle fracture, which is controlled by material strengthening as a result of principal stress in front of the crack, is both loading rate and temperature dependent. Results from tests at quasi-static and elevated loading rates show changes in the fracture behaviour in terms of transition temperature. A shift to a higher ductile-to-brittle transition temperature was observed as the loading rate increases. This was associated with a reduction in the fracture toughness value on the lower transition region. The reference temperature, T0, at a K-rate of 1 MPa √m/s using Master Curve concepts is estimated to be around -116 °C and -108 °C for Charpy-sized pre-cracked and standard (25x25 mm) SENB specimens respectively, under quasi-static conditions for S690QL. The dynamic T0,d is -70.4 °C in the same steel for Charpy-sized pre-cracked specimens at K-rates up to 106 MPa √m/s.Lloyd’s Register Foundatio