Making Judicial Recusal More Rigorous

The right to an impartial arbiter is the bedrock of due process. Yet litigants in most state courts face judges subject to election and reelection – and therefore to majoritarian political pressures that would appear to undermine the judges\u27 impartiality. This tension has existed for as long as judges have been elected (and, to some extent, for as long as they have been appointed, in which case campaigns often take a less public but equally politicized form). In recent years, however, this tension has become more acute. Today, state courts around the country increasingly resemble – and are increasingly perceived to resemble – interest group battlegrounds in which judges represent particular constituencies in addition to, or even instead of, the rule of law. Two key developments are driving this transformation: the role of money in judicial elections is growing while the canons of conduct are shrinking. These trends are creating dramatic new threats to judicial impartiality and due process. Taking our cue from Justice Anthony Kennedy\u27s concurrence in Republican Party of Minnesota v. White, we explore in this article a possible solution: making judicial recusal rules more rigorous

Making Judicial Recusal More Rigorous

The right to an impartial arbiter is the bedrock of due process. Yet litigants in most state courts face judges subject to election and reelection – and therefore to majoritarian political pressures that would appear to undermine the judges\u27 impartiality. This tension has existed for as long as judges have been elected (and, to some extent, for as long as they have been appointed, in which case campaigns often take a less public but equally politicized form). In recent years, however, this tension has become more acute. Today, state courts around the country increasingly resemble – and are increasingly perceived to resemble – interest group battlegrounds in which judges represent particular constituencies in addition to, or even instead of, the rule of law. Two key developments are driving this transformation: the role of money in judicial elections is growing while the canons of conduct are shrinking. These trends are creating dramatic new threats to judicial impartiality and due process. Taking our cue from Justice Anthony Kennedy\u27s concurrence in Republican Party of Minnesota v. White, we explore in this article a possible solution: making judicial recusal rules more rigorous

Recommendations to improve wildlife exposure estimation for development of soil screening and cleanup values

An integral component in the development of media-specific values for the ecological risk assessment of chemicals is the derivation of safe levels of exposure for wildlife. Although the derivation and subsequent application of these values can be used for screening purposes, there is a need to identify the threshold for effects when making remedial decisions during site-specific assessments. Methods for evaluation of wildlife exposure are included in the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) ecological soil screening levels (Eco-SSLs), registration, evaluation, authorization, and restriction of chemicals (REACH), and other risk-based soil assessment approaches. The goal of these approaches is to ensure that soil-associated contaminants do not pose a risk to wildlife that directly ingest soil, or to species that may be exposed to contaminants that persist in the food chain. These approaches incorporate broad assumptions in the exposure and effects assessments and in the risk characterization process. Consequently, thresholds for concluding risk are frequently very low with conclusions of risk possible when soil metal concentrations fall in the range of natural background. A workshop held in September, 2012 evaluated existing methods and explored recent science about factors to consider when establishing appropriate remedial goals for concentrations of metals in soils. A Foodweb Exposure Workgroup was organized to evaluate methods for quantifying exposure of wildlife to soil-associated metals through soil and food consumption and to provide recommendations for the development of ecological soil cleanup values (Eco-SCVs) that are both practical and scientifically defensible. The specific goals of this article are to review the current practices for quantifying exposure of wildlife to soil-associated contaminants via bioaccumulation and trophic transfer, to identify potential opportunities for refining and improving these exposure estimates, and finally, to make recommendations for application of these improved models to the development of site-specific remedial goals protective of wildlife. Although the focus is on metals contamination, many of the methods and tools discussed are also applicable to organic contaminants. The conclusion of this workgroup was that existing exposure estimation models are generally appropriate when fully expanded and that methods are generally available to develop more robust site-specific exposure estimates. Improved realism in site-specific wildlife Eco-SCVs could be achieved by obtaining more realistic estimates for diet composition, bioaccumulation, bioavailability and/or bioaccessibility, soil ingestion, spatial aspects of exposure, and target organ exposure. These components of wildlife exposure estimation should be developed on a site-, species-, and analyte-specific basis to the extent that the expense for their derivation is justified by the value they add to Eco-SCV development

Integrated water resources management in North Georgia implications of wastewater management policy

Water management in the southeast, and particularly in Georgia, has become increasingly more complex due to rapid population growth, dwindling water supplies, water quality and instream flow concerns, and allocation disputes with neighboring states. The Georgia state legislature responded with two key initiatives: SB 130, passed in 2001, which formed the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District (MNGWPD), and HB 237, passed in 2004, which requires the development of a Comprehensive Statewide Water Plan (CSWP). In 2003, the MNGWPD adopted wastewater management, watershed protection, and water supply and conservation plans that will guide water resources in metropolitan Atlanta for the next 30 years. Implementation costs of the MNGWPD water and wastewater plans through 2030 has been estimated to total $60B. To conserve financial resources and encourage a sustainable development pattern, it is necessary to prioritize these investments, i.e., focus investments upon areas have the ability to increase population density due to the proximity of existing services. Currently, growth management policies in some jurisdictions encourage septic system development, increasing overall wastewater treatment costs and interfering with water management goals.Sponsored by: Georgia Environmental Protection Division U.S. Geological Survey, Georgia Water Science Center U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia Water Resources Institute The University of Georgia, Water Resources Facult

The BHLF1 locus of Epstein-Barr virus contributes to viral latency and B-cell immortalization

Funding: U.S. Public Health Service grant AI110328 to J.T.S. and in part by Commonwealth Universal Research Enhancement (CURE) funds. L.N.L. received support from National Cancer Institute training grant T32 CA060395, and is a Lymphoma Research Foundation Grantee.The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) BHLF1 gene encodes an abundant linear and several circular RNAs believed to perform non-coding functions during virus replication, though an open reading frame is retained among an unknown percentage of EBV isolates. Evidence suggests that BHLF1 is also transcribed during latent infection, which prompted us to investigate the contribution of this locus to latency. Analysis of transcripts transiting BHLF1 revealed its transcription is widespread among B-cell lines supporting the latency I or III program of EBV protein expression, and to be more complex than originally presumed. EBV-negative Burkitt lymphoma cell lines infected with either wild-type or two different BHLF1 mutant EBVs were initially indistinguishable in supporting latency III. However, cells infected with BHLF1- virus ultimately transitioned to the more restrictive latency I, whereas cells infected with wild-type virus either sustained latency III or transitioned more slowly to latency I. Upon infection of primary B cells, which require latency III for growth in vitro, both BHLF1- viruses exhibited variably reduced immortalization potential relative to wild-type virus. Finally, in transfection experiments, efficient protein expression from an intact BHLF1 ORF required the EBV post-transcriptional regulator protein SM, whose expression is limited to the replicative cycle. Thus, one way in which BHLF1 may contribute to latency is through a mechanism, possibly mediated or regulated by a long non-coding RNA, that supports latency III critical for the establishment of EBV latency and lifelong persistence within its host, whereas any retained protein-dependent function of BHLF1 may be restricted to the replication cycle. Importance. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) has significant oncogenic potential that is linked to its latent infection of B lymphocytes, during which virus replication is not supported. Establishment of latent infection, which is life long and can precede tumor development by years, requires the concerted actions of nearly a dozen EBV proteins and numerous small non-protein-coding RNAs. Elucidation of how these EBV products contribute to latency is crucial to understanding EBV's role in specific malignancies, and ultimately to clinical intervention. Historically, EBV genes that contribute to virus replication have been excluded from consideration of a role in latency, primarily because of the general incompatibility between virus production and cell survival. However, here we provide evidence that the genetic locus containing one such gene, BHLF1, indeed contributes to key aspects of EBV latency, including its ability to promote continuous growth of B lymphocytes, thus providing significant new insight into EBV biology and oncogenic potential.PostprintPeer reviewe

State-of-the-art for assessment of solar energy technologies 2019

To realize the EU target of energy transition to a carbon neutral energy system, wide scale deployment of photovoltaic solar energy is required. This report describes the contribution of the European Solar Test Installation to enable this transition.JRC.C.2-Energy Efficiency and Renewable

Illness Mapping: A time and cost effective method to estimate healthcare data needed to establish community-based health insurance

Background: Most healthcare spending in developing countries is private out-of-pocket. One explanation for low penetration of health insurance is that poorer individuals doubt their ability to enforce insurance contracts. Community-based health insurance schemes (CBHI) are a solution, but launching CBHI requires obtaining accurate local data on morbidity, healthcare utilization and other details to inform package design and pricing. We developed the "Illness Mapping" method (IM) for data collection (faster and cheaper than household surveys). Methods. IM is a modification of two non-interactive consensus group methods (Delphi and Nominal Group Technique) to operate as interactive methods. We elicited estimates from "Experts" in the target community on morbidity and healthcare utilization. Interaction between facilitator and experts became essential to bridge literacy constraints and to reach consensus.The study was conducted in Gaya District, Bihar (India) during April-June 2010. The intervention included the IM and a household survey (HHS). IM included 18 women's and 17 men's groups. The HHS was conducted in 50 villages with1,000 randomly selected households (6,656 individuals). Results: We found good agreement between the two methods on overall prevalence of illness (IM: 25.9% ±3.6; HHS: 31.4%) and on prevalence of acute (IM: 76.9%; HHS: 69.2%) and chronic illnesses (IM: 20.1%; HHS: 16.6%). We also found good agreement on incidence of deliveries (IM: 3.9% ±0.4; HHS: 3.9%), and on hospital deliveries (IM: 61.0%. ± 5.4; HHS: 51.4%). For hospitalizations, we obtained a lower estimate from the IM (1.1%) than from the HHS (2.6%). The IM required less time and less person-power than a household survey, which translate into reduced costs. Conclusions: We have shown that our Illness Mapping method can be carried out at lower financial and human cost for sourcing essential local data, at acceptably accurate levels. In view of the good fit of results obtained, we assume that the method could work elsewhere as well

A functional link between lariat debranching enzyme and the intron-binding complex is defective in non-photosensitive trichothiodystrophy.

The pre-mRNA life cycle requires intron processing; yet, how intron-processing defects influence splicing and gene expression is unclear. Here, we find that TTDN1/MPLKIP, which is encoded by a gene implicated in non-photosensitive trichothiodystrophy (NP-TTD), functionally links intron lariat processing to spliceosomal function. The conserved TTDN1 C-terminal region directly binds lariat debranching enzyme DBR1, whereas its N-terminal intrinsically disordered region (IDR) binds the intron-binding complex (IBC). TTDN1 loss, or a mutated IDR, causes significant intron lariat accumulation, as well as splicing and gene expression defects, mirroring phenotypes observed in NP-TTD patient cells. A Ttdn1-deficient mouse model recapitulates intron-processing defects and certain neurodevelopmental phenotypes seen in NP-TTD. Fusing DBR1 to the TTDN1 IDR is sufficient to recruit DBR1 to the IBC and circumvents the functional requirement for TTDN1. Collectively, our findings link RNA lariat processing with splicing outcomes by revealing the molecular function of TTDN1