FREE COUNTRY

Sir Sydney Kentridge KCMG, QC, Hart Publishing Oxford 2012 ISBN-10: 1849464677,  ISBN-13: 978-1849464673 Price £20.00 hb‘Free Country’ is a collection of lectures and talks, twelve in all, given by Sir Sydney Kentridge QC, over a period running from 1979 to 2011 and now published as a collection. Sir Sydney became in 2009 an honorary LLD of the University of Buckingham, an addition to the seven or eight honorary degrees that he already held from Universities in England, South Africa and elsewhere in the world. Susan Edwards, Professor in Law at the University of Buckingham, asked me to write a review of “Free Country’ for inclusion in this year’s edition of The Denning Law Journal, published annually by the University. It was an honour and privilege to have received this invitation, my only qualification for which is that besides, like Sir Sydney, having had a career as a lawyer in England, I like him, was educated and brought up in South Africa and, when I came to England,  did so on a South African passport. Having read, and re-read, the remarkable collection of lectures and talks that constitutes ‘Free Country’ I find it impossible to write about the collection without first writing about its very distinguished author

Thriving in the 4x4 Learning and Teaching Model: A Case Study of Lynn University

The scope of the presentation is to share the best practices of the thriving 4x4 model at Lynn University. Due to the pandemic, content delivery and learning evolution in the last two years are imperative while providing holistic learning and college experience. Lynn University has revamped the structure of the semester from a traditional one to an innovative one. The presentation will focus on detailed methodologies and analysis of innovative design, including statistical evidence from the data collected

The depression in visual impairment trial (DEPVIT): trial design and protocol

<b>Background</b> The prevalence of depression in people with a visual disability is high but screening for depression and referral for treatment is not yet an integral part of visual rehabilitation service provision. One reason for this may be that there is no good evidence about the effectiveness of treatments in this patient group. This study is the first to evaluate the effect of depression treatments on people with a visual impairment and co morbid depression.<p></p> <b>Methods/design</b> The study is an exploratory, multicentre, individually randomised waiting list controlled trial. Participants will be randomised to receive Problem Solving Therapy (PST), a ‘referral to the GP’ requesting treatment according to the NICE’s ‘stepped care’ recommendations or the waiting list arm of the trial. The primary outcome measure is change (from randomisation) in depressive symptoms as measured by the Beck’s Depression Inventory (BDI-II) at 6 months. Secondary outcomes include change in depressive symptoms at 3 months, change in visual function as measured with the near vision subscale of the VFQ-48 and 7 item NEI-VFQ at 3 and 6 months, change in generic health related quality of life (EQ5D), the costs associated with PST, estimates of incremental cost effectiveness, and recruitment rate estimation.<p></p> <b>Discussion</b> Depression is prevalent in people with disabling visual impairment. This exploratory study will establish depression screening and referral for treatment in visual rehabilitation clinics in the UK. It will be the first to explore the efficacy of PST and the effectiveness of NICE’s ‘stepped care’ approach to the treatment of depression in people with a visual impairment.<p></p&gt

The barocaloric effect: A Spin-off of the Discovery of High-Temperature Superconductivity

Some key results obtained in joint research projects with Alex M\"uller are summarized, concentrating on the invention of the barocaloric effect and its application for cooling as well as on important findings in the field of high-temperature superconductivity resulting from neutron scattering experiments.Comment: 26 pages, 9 figure

Collembola are Unlikely to Cause Human Dermatitis

There have been several unconfirmed case reports of dermatitis caused by Collembola (springtails). We recently investigated two nurses with dermatitis suspected to be caused by Drepanura Schött (Collembola: Entomobryidae). IgE antibodies to Collembola proteins were not detected in sera from the nurses and skin tests with the Collembola extract and crushed whole Collembola were negative in both the nurses and volunteers. This study suggests that the springtail Drepanura may not cause human dermatitis and that other organisms and organic matter that are also found in the moist environment inhabited by Collembola might instead be responsible

Reward processing in autism: a thematic series

This thematic series presents theoretical and empirical papers focused on understanding autism from the perspective of reward processing deficits. Although the core symptoms of autism have not traditionally been conceptualized with respect to altered reward-based processes, it is clear that brain reward circuitry plays a critical role in guiding social and nonsocial learning and behavior throughout development. Additionally, brain reward circuitry may respond to social sources of information in ways that are similar to responses to primary rewards, and recent clinical data consistently suggest abnormal behavioral and neurobiologic responses to rewards in autism. This thematic series presents empirical data and review papers that highlight the utility of considering autism from the perspective of reward processing deficits. Our hope is that this novel framework may further elucidate autism pathophysiology, with the ultimate goal of yielding novel insights with potential therapeutic implications

PhOTO Zebrafish: A Transgenic Resource for In Vivo Lineage Tracing during Development and Regeneration

Background: Elucidating the complex cell dynamics (divisions, movement, morphological changes, etc.) underlying embryonic development and adult tissue regeneration requires an efficient means to track cells with high fidelity in space and time. To satisfy this criterion, we developed a transgenic zebrafish line, called PhOTO, that allows photoconvertible optical tracking of nuclear and membrane dynamics in vivo. Methodology: PhOTO zebrafish ubiquitously express targeted blue fluorescent protein (FP) Cerulean and photoconvertible FP Dendra2 fusions, allowing for instantaneous, precise targeting and tracking of any number of cells using Dendra2 photoconversion while simultaneously monitoring global cell behavior and morphology. Expression persists through adulthood, making the PhOTO zebrafish an excellent tool for studying tissue regeneration: after tail fin amputation and photoconversion of a ~100µm stripe along the cut area, marked differences seen in how cells contribute to the new tissue give detailed insight into the dynamic process of regeneration. Photoconverted cells that contributed to the regenerate were separated into three distinct populations corresponding to the extent of cell division 7 days after amputation, and a subset of cells that divided the least were organized into an evenly spaced, linear orientation along the length of the newly regenerating fin. Conclusions/Significance: PhOTO zebrafish have wide applicability for lineage tracing at the systems-level in the early embryo as well as in the adult, making them ideal candidate tools for future research in development, traumatic injury and regeneration, cancer progression, and stem cell behavior