Is Pro Bono Practice In Legal “Backwaters” Beyond The Scope of The Model Rules?

[Excerpt] While many private sector attorneys offer pro bono legal services that reflect the same level of diligence and skill characteristic of the work done on behalf of their paying clients, the egregious failures described in the MC v. GC case and those that occur in many unreported matters highlight the dangers of pro bono initiatives designed to bridge the “access to justice gap.” As used here, the term “justice gap” refers to the chasm between the need for legal representation in civil disputes and public interest attorneys available to serve poor and working class clients. Justice gap pro bono programs connect low-income individuals in need of legal assistance in matters such as eviction prevention, family disputes, and consumer debt collection cases with attorneys from large law firms that typically specialize in commercial litigation and corporate transactions. Though well intentioned, justice gap pro bono initiatives that succeed do so in spite of the impediments to ethical representation that pervade this method of legal service delivery. The market forces and “informal collegial control” that shape attorney conduct in the for-profit setting are often absent within the world of pro bono service. Moreover, the ethics rules that should govern pro bono attorneys offer inadequate guidance to lawyers grappling with the unique concerns of pro bono lawyering practiced in a for-profit context

Widening Participation in Golf: Barriers to Participation and GolfMark

This research was commissioned by the EGU and R&A in 2010. The aims of the research project were threefold: 1) To review the academic literature on barriers to participation in sport, especially golf; 2) To survey clubs, members and nomadic golfers to describe their perceptions of GolfMark and the issues it intends to address; 3) To gather in-depth data from a range of golf clubs to help understand how different club cultures may lead to the exclusion of underrepresented demographic groups

Formal representation of proper names in accordance with a descriptive theory of reference

In this paper I present a way of formally representing proper names in accordance with a description theory of reference-fixing and show that such a representation makes it possible to retain the claim about the rigidity of proper names and is not vulnerable to Kripke’s modal objection

Epigenomes in Cardiovascular Disease.

If unifying principles could be revealed for how the same genome encodes different eukaryotic cells and for how genetic variability and environmental input are integrated to impact cardiovascular health, grand challenges in basic cell biology and translational medicine may succumb to experimental dissection. A rich body of work in model systems has implicated chromatin-modifying enzymes, DNA methylation, noncoding RNAs, and other transcriptome-shaping factors in adult health and in the development, progression, and mitigation of cardiovascular disease. Meanwhile, deployment of epigenomic tools, powered by next-generation sequencing technologies in cardiovascular models and human populations, has enabled description of epigenomic landscapes underpinning cellular function in the cardiovascular system. This essay aims to unpack the conceptual framework in which epigenomes are studied and to stimulate discussion on how principles of chromatin function may inform investigations of cardiovascular disease and the development of new therapies

Structural translation with synchronous tree adjoining grammars in VERBMOBIL

The VERBMOBIL project is developing a translation system that can assist a face-to-face dialogue between two non-native english speakers. Instead of having continiously speak english, the dialogue partners have the option to switch to their respective mother tongues (currently german or japanese) in cases where they can\u27t find the required word, phrase or sentence. In such situations, the users activate VERBMOBIL to translate their utterances into english. A very important requirement for such a system is realtime processing. Realtime processing is essentially necessary, if such a system is to be smoothly integrated into an ongoing communication. This can be achieved by the use of anytime processing, which always provides a result. The quality of the result however, depends on the computation time given to the system. Early interruptions can only produce shallow results. Aiming at such a processing mode, methods for fast but preliminary translation must be integrated into the system assisted by others that refine these results. In this case we suggest structural translation with Synchronous Tree Adjoining Grammars (S-TAGs), which can serve as a fast and shallow realisation of all steps necessary during translation, i.e. analysis, transfer and generation, in a system capable of running anytime methods. This mode is especially adequate for standardized speech acts and simple sentences. Furthermore, it provides a result for early interruptions of the translation process. By building an explicit linguistic structure, methods for refining the result can rearrange the structure in order to increase the quality of the translation given extended execution time. This paper describes the formalism of S-TAGs and the parsing algorithm implemented in VERBMOBIL. Furthermore the language covered by the german grammar is described. Finally we list examples together with the execution time required for their processing

Initial interaction of citrate-coated iron oxide nanoparticles with the glycocalyx of THP-1 monocytes assessed by real-time magnetic particle spectroscopy and electron microscopy

Interaction with biological material can alter physicochemical parameters of magnetic nanoparticles and might thereby change their magnetic behavior with potentially important implications for various nanoparticle applications. Little is known about changes of the magnetic behavior that occur during the initial phase of cell binding and uptake. We investigate the magnetic behavior of very small superparamagnetic iron-oxide nanoparticles (VSOP) during initial contact with THP-1 monocytes. We combine real-time magnetic particle spectroscopy (MPS), a fast and sensitive method for specific detection of magnetic nanoparticles in biological specimen with high-pressure-freezing/freeze-substitution transmission electron microscopy (HPF/FS-TEM), enabling us to generate snapshots of the interaction of VSOP with the cellular glycocalyx. MPS reveals significant changes of the dynamic magnetic behavior within seconds after VSOP injection into monocyte suspensions that correlate with the formation of nanoparticle clusters in the glycocalyx. The combination of real-time MPS and HPF/FS-TEM provides an ideal platform to analyze magnetic behaviors of nanoparticles upon interaction with cells and tissues

Use of ultraviolet-fluorescence-based simulation in evaluation of personal protective equipment worn for first assessment and care of a patient with suspected high-consequence infectious disease

Background: Variations currently exist across the UK in the choice of personal protective equipment (PPE) used by healthcare workers when caring for patients with suspected high-consequence infectious diseases (HCIDs). Aim: To test the protection afforded to healthcare workers by current PPE ensembles during assessment of a suspected HCID case, and to provide an evidence base to justify proposal of a unified PPE ensemble for healthcare workers across the UK. Methods: One ‘basic level’ (enhanced precautions) PPE ensemble and five ‘suspected case’ PPE ensembles were evaluated in volunteer trials using ‘Violet’; an ultraviolet-fluorescence-based simulation exercise to visualize exposure/contamination events. Contamination was photographed and mapped. Findings: There were 147 post-simulation and 31 post-doffing contamination events, from a maximum of 980, when evaluating the basic level of PPE. Therefore, this PPE ensemble did not afford adequate protection, primarily due to direct contamination of exposed areas of the skin. For the five suspected case ensembles, 1584 post-simulation contamination events were recorded, from a maximum of 5110. Twelve post-doffing contamination events were also observed (face, two events; neck, one event; forearm, one event; lower legs, eight events). Conclusion: All suspected case PPE ensembles either had post-doffing contamination events or other significant disadvantages to their use. This identified the need to design a unified PPE ensemble and doffing procedure, incorporating the most protective PPE considered for each body area. This work has been presented to, and reviewed by, key stakeholders to decide on a proposed unified ensemble, subject to further evaluation

Tree adjoining grammars mit Unifikation

Tree Adjoining Grammars (TAGs) - as used in the parsing algorithm of Harbusch - can be improved with respect to compactness and transparency for the task of grammar design. We have combined the two formalisms Tree Adjoining Grammar and Unification in order to benefit from their respective advantages. Our approach is contrasted with the approach of Vijay-Shanker

‘VIOLET’: a fluorescence-based simulation exercise for training healthcare workers in the use of personal protective equipment

Background Healthcare workers caring for patients with high-consequence infectious diseases (HCIDs) require protection from pathogen exposure, for example by wearing personal protective equipment (PPE). Protection is acquired through the inherent safety of the PPE components, but also their safe and correct use, supported by adequate training and user familiarity. However, the evidence base for HCID PPE ensembles and any associated training is lacking, with subsequent variation between healthcare providers. Aim To develop an evidence-based assessment and training tool for evaluating PPE ensembles and doffing protocols, in the assessment of patients with suspected HCIDs. Methods VIOLET (Visualising Infection with Optimised Light for Education and Training) comprises a healthcare mannequin adapted to deliver simulated bodily fluids containing UV-fluorescent tracers. On demand and remotely operated, the mannequin projectile vomits (blue), coughs (red), has diarrhoea (yellow) and is covered in sweat (orange). Wearing PPE, healthcare staff participate in an HCID risk assessment and examination of the ‘patient’, thereby becoming exposed to these bodily fluids. Contamination of PPE is visualized and body-mapped under UV light before and after removal. Observational findings and participant feedback, around its use as a training exercise, is also recorded. Findings Significant contamination from different exposure events was seen, enabling evaluation of PPE and doffing procedures used. Observational data and participant feedback demonstrated its strengths and success as a training technique. Conclusion Simulation exercises using VIOLET provide evidence-based assessment of PPE ensembles, and are a valuable resource for training of healthcare staff in wearing and safe doffing of PPE

Macrophage uptake switches on OCT contrast of superparamagnetic nanoparticles for imaging of atherosclerotic plaques

Background: Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is an intravascular, high-resolution imaging technique that is used to characterize atherosclerotic plaques. However, the identification of macrophages as important markers of inflammation and plaque vulnerability remains difficult. Here, we investigate whether the uptake of very small iron oxide particles (VSOP) in macrophages, that cluster in phagolysosomes and allow high-quality magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of atherosclerotic plaques, and uptake of ferumoxytol nanoparticles enhance detection of macrophages by OCT. Materials and methods: RAW 264.7 macrophage cells were incubated with VSOP (1 and 2 mM Fe) that have been clinically tested and ferumoxytol (8.9 mM Fe) that is approved for iron deficiency treatment and currently investigated as an MRI contrast agent. The light scattering of control macrophages, nanoparticle-labeled macrophages (2,000,000 in 500 mu L) and nanoparticle suspensions was measured in synchronous wavelength scan mode using a fluorescence spectrophotometer. For OCT analyses, pellets of 8,000,000 non-labeled, VSOP-labeled and ferumoxytol-labeled RAW 264.7 macrophages were imaged and analyzed on an OPTIS (TM) OCT imaging system. Results: Incubation with 1 and 2 mM VSOP resulted in uptake of 7.1 +/- 1.5 and 12 +/- 1.5 pg Fe per cell, which increased the backscattering of the macrophages in spectrophotometry 2.5- and 3.6-fold, whereas incubation with 8.9 mM Fe ferumoxytol resulted in uptake of 6.6 +/- 2 pg Fe per cell, which increased the backscattering 1.5-fold at 700 nm. In contrast, backscattering of non-clustered nanoparticles in suspension was negligible. Accordingly, OCT imaging could visualize significantly increased backscattering and signal attenuation of nanoparticle-labeled macrophages in comparison with controls. Conclusion: We conclude that VSOP and, to a lesser extent, ferumoxytol increase light scattering and attenuation when taken up by macrophages and can serve as a multimodal imaging probe for MRI and OCT to improve macrophage detection in atherosclerotic plaques by OCT in the future