"Preferred reading" of Legal Texts

In the 1970s, British cultural theorist Stuart Hall introduced a concept known as preferred reading. It combines the ideological influence of mass media and dominant ways of understanding any text. This article focuses on mass media as a source of ideological background or context of legal interpretation and of any reading of legal texts. Law operates in culture and culture represents limitations in the law, according to the needs of dominant ideology. Culture introduces structures of domination which manipulate law. An important role is also given to popular culture and mass culture. These parts of the culture industry create borders in which the recipients (audience) think of law. Through mass media – rather than through other channels – dominant ideology infiltrates law. Legal consciousness is formed by dominant cultural frames formed by dominant ideology. Through this formation of mass media, law becomes a commodity. It shares the same values or contents as that of cultural industry and is the place where the theory of preferred reading can be introduced. According to the aforementioned theory, there are methods of interpretation that are more accurate than others are. This is simply because they lead to a result that is more preferred by ‘common opinion’ disseminated by mass culture.V roce 1970, britský kulturní teoretik Stuart Hall představil koncept známý jako preferovaného čtení. Ten v sobě spojuje ideologický vliv masových médií a dominantní způsoby chápání jakéhokoli textu. Tento článek se zaměřuje masová média jako zdroj ideologického pozadí nebo kontextu právního výkladu. Právo působí v kultuře a kultura představuje omezení právo dle potřeb dominantní ideologie. Kultura vytváří struktury dominace, které manipulují právem. Důležitou roli také sehrává populární a masová kultura. Tyto části kulturního průmyslu vytváří hranice, ve kterých příjemci (publikum) uvažují o právu. Prostřednictvím masových médií - spíše než prostřednictvím jiných kanálů - dominantní ideologie infiltruje právo. Právní vědomí je tvořeno dominantními kulturními rámci vytvořenými dominantní ideologií. Prostřednictvím této formace vytvářené masovými médii se právo stává komoditou. Sdílí proto stejné hodnoty, nebo obsah jaké definuje kulturní průmysl. Proto lze i v právním kontextu uvažovat o tzv. preferovaném čtení. Proto lze identifikovat paradigmata výkladu, které jsou mnohem "použeitelnější" než jiné, protože vedou k očekávaným výsledkům. K výsledkům, které odpovídají očekávání masového publika.In the 1970s, British cultural theorist Stuart Hall introduced a concept known as preferred reading. It combines the ideological influence of mass media and dominant ways of understanding any text. This article focuses on mass media as a source of ideological background or context of legal interpretation and of any reading of legal texts. Law operates in culture and culture represents limitations in the law, according to the needs of dominant ideology. Culture introduces structures of domination which manipulate law. An important role is also given to popular culture and mass culture. These parts of the culture industry create borders in which the recipients (audience) think of law. Through mass media – rather than through other channels – dominant ideology infiltrates law. Legal consciousness is formed by dominant cultural frames formed by dominant ideology. Through this formation of mass media, law becomes a commodity. It shares the same values or contents as that of cultural industry and is the place where the theory of preferred reading can be introduced. According to the aforementioned theory, there are methods of interpretation that are more accurate than others are. This is simply because they lead to a result that is more preferred by ‘common opinion’ disseminated by mass culture

Crystal structures of oligonucleotides including the integrase processing site of the Moloney murine leukemia virus

In the first step of retroviral integration, integrase cleaves the linear viral DNA within its long terminal repeat (LTR) immediately 3′ to the CA dinucleotide step, resulting in a reactive 3′ OH on one strand and a 5′ two base overhang on the complementary strand. In order to investigate the structural properties of the 3′ end processing site within the Moloney murine leukemia virus (MMLV) LTR d(TCTTTCATT), a host-guest crystallographic method was employed to determine the structures of four self-complementary 16 bp oligonucleotides including LTR sequences (underlined), d(TTTCATTGCAATGAAA), d(CTTTCATTAATGAAAG), d(TCTTTCATATGAAAGA) and d(CACAATGATCATTGTG), the guests, complexed with the N-terminal fragment of MMLV reverse transcriptase, the host. The structures of the LTR-containing oligonucleotides were compared to those of non-LTR oligonucleotides crystallized in the same lattice. Properties unique to the CA dinucleotide step within the LTR sequence, independent of its position from the end of the duplex, include a positive roll angle and negative slide value. This propensity for the CA dinucleotide step within the MMLV LTR sequence to adopt only positive roll angles is likely influenced by the more rigid, invariable 3′ and 5′ flanking TT dinucleotide steps and may be important for specific recognition and/or cleavage by the MMLV integrase

Effect of digestion on stability of palivizumab IgG1 in the infant gastrointestinal tract

Background Potentially, orally administered antibodies specific to enteric pathogens could be administered to infants to prevent diarrheal infections, particularly in developing countries where diarrhea is a major problem. However, to prevent infection, such antibodies would need to resist degradation within the gastrointestinal tract. Methods Palivizumab, a recombinant antibody specific to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), was used in this study as a model for examining the digestion of neutralizing antibodies to enteric pathogens in infants. The survival of this recombinant IgG1 across digestion in 11 infants was assayed via an anti-idiotype ELISA and RSV F protein-specific ELISA. Concentrations were controlled for any dilution or concentration that occurred in the digestive system using mass spectrometry-based quantification of co-administered, orally supplemented, indigestible polyethylene glycol (PEG-28). Results Binding activity of Palivizumab IgG1 decreased (26–99%) across each phase of in vivo digestion as measured by both anti-idiotype and RSV F protein-specific ELISAs. Conclusion Antibodies generated for passive protection of the infant gastrointestinal tract from pathogens will need to be more resistant to digestion than the model antibody fed to infants in this study, or provided in higher doses to be most effective

Nanopore Detector based analysis of single-molecule conformational kinetics and binding interactions

BACKGROUND: A Nanopore Detector provides a means to transduce single molecule events into observable channel current changes. Nanopore-based detection can report directly, or indirectly, on single molecule kinetics. The nanopore-based detector can directly measure molecular characteristics in terms of the blockade properties of individual molecules – this is possible due to the kinetic information that is embedded in the blockade measurements, where the adsorption-desorption history of the molecule to the surrounding channel, and the configurational changes in the molecule itself, imprint on the ionic flow through the channel. This rich source of information offers prospects for DNA sequencing and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis. A nanopore-based detector can also measure molecular characteristics indirectly, by using a reporter molecule that binds to certain molecules, with subsequent distinctive blockade by the bound-molecule complex. RESULTS: It is hypothesized that reaction histories of individual molecules can be observed on model DNA/DNA, DNA/Protein, and Protein/Protein systems. Preliminary results are all consistent with this hypothesis. Nanopore detection capabilities are also described for highly discriminatory biosensing, binding strength characterization, and rapid immunological screening. CONCLUSION: In essence, the heart of chemistry is now accessible to a new, single-molecule, observation method that can track both external molecular binding states, and internal conformation states

Unprocessed Viral DNA Could Be the Primary Target of the HIV-1 Integrase Inhibitor Raltegravir

Integration of HIV DNA into host chromosome requires a 3′-processing (3′-P) and a strand transfer (ST) reactions catalyzed by virus integrase (IN). Raltegravir (RAL), commonly used in AIDS therapy, belongs to the family of IN ST inhibitors (INSTIs) acting on IN-viral DNA complexes (intasomes). However, studies show that RAL fails to bind IN alone, but nothing has been reported on the behaviour of RAL toward free viral DNA. Here, we assessed whether free viral DNA could be a primary target for RAL, assuming that the DNA molecule is a receptor for a huge number of pharmacological agents. Optical spectroscopy, molecular dynamics and free energy calculations, showed that RAL is a tight binder of both processed and unprocessed LTR (long terminal repeat) ends. Complex formation involved mainly van der Waals forces and was enthalpy driven. Dissociation constants (Kds) revealed that RAL affinity for unbound LTRs was stronger than for bound LTRs. Moreover, Kd value for binding of RAL to LTRs and IC50 value (half concentration for inhibition) were in same range, suggesting that RAL binding to DNA and ST inhibition are correlated events. Accommodation of RAL into terminal base-pairs of unprocessed LTR is facilitated by an extensive end fraying that lowers the RAL binding energy barrier. The RAL binding entails a weak damping of fraying and correlatively of 3′-P inhibition. Noteworthy, present calculated RAL structures bound to free viral DNA resemble those found in RAL-intasome crystals, especially concerning the contacts between the fluorobenzyl group and the conserved 5′C4pA33′ step. We propose that RAL inhibits IN, in binding first unprocessed DNA. Similarly to anticancer drug poisons acting on topoisomerases, its interaction with DNA does not alter the cut, but blocks the subsequent joining reaction. We also speculate that INSTIs having viral DNA rather IN as main target could induce less resistance

Betrayed: a Rosato & Associates novel

Blockbuster author Lisa Scottoline returns to the Rosato & Associates law firm with Betrayed, and maverick lawyer Judy Carrier takes the lead in a case that\u27s more personal than ever. Judy has always championed the underdog, so when Iris, the housekeeper and best friend of Judy\u27s beloved Aunt Barb, is found dead of an apparent heart attack, Judy begins to suspect foul play. The circumstances of the death leave Judy with more questions than answers, and never before has murder struck so close to home. In the meantime, Judy\u27s own life roils with emotional and professional upheaval. She doesn\u27t play well with her boss, Bennie Rosato, which jeopardizes her making partner at the firm. Not only that, her best friend Mary DiNunzio is planning a wedding, leaving Judy feeling left behind, as well as newly unhappy in her relationship with her live-in boyfriend Frank. Judy sets her own drama aside and begins an investigation of Iris\u27s murder, then discovers a shocking truth that confounds her expectations and leads her in a completely different direction. She finds herself plunged into a shadowy world of people who are so desperate that they cannot go to the police, and where others are so ruthless that they prey on vulnerability. Judy finds strength within herself to try to get justice for Iris and her aunt -- but it comes at a terrible price. -- Provided by publisher; The women of Rosato & Associates return, after the relaunch of the series that started with Accused. This second entry, Betrayed, stars Judy Carrier, who has had the starring role in only one previous Rosato book. When Betrayed opens, Judy Carrier finds herself at a crossroads in her life. Her best friend, Mary DiNunzio, has just become partner and is about to become a bride, leaving Judy vaguely out of sorts. She\u27s not jealous, but she\u27s not happy either and she\u27s wondering where her own career and love life are going. To make matters worse, she is rocked to her emotional foundations when she learns that her beloved Aunt Vicky has been diagnosed with breast cancer. She races to her aunt\u27s side, and so does Judy\u27s mother, only to find that her aunt is dealing with the sudden death of a friend who had been helping her through chemo. The friend, Emelia Juarez, was an undocumented worker at a local farm, but her death doesn\u27t look natural at all, to Judy. Judy begins to investigate, following a path that leads her into an underground world far more dangerous than she ever imagined. Judy has to dig to uncover what happened to Emelia, and at the same time unearth the secrets in her own family -- Provided by publisherhttps://scholarship.law.ua.edu/harper_lee_prize_books_2015/1012/thumbnail.jp

Feared: a Rosato & DiNunzio novel

Sequel to: Exposed; When three men announce that they are suing the Rosato & DiNunzio law firm for reverse sex discrimination--claiming that they were not hired because they were men--Mary DiNunzio and Bennie Rosato are outraged. To make matters worse, their one male employee, John Foxman, intends to resign, claiming that there is some truth to this case. The plaintiffs\u27 lawyer is Nick Machiavelli, who has already lost to Mary once and is now back with a vengeance--determined not to not only win, but destroy the firm. It soon becomes clear that Machiavelli will do anything in his power to achieve his end ... even after the case turns deadly. The stakes have never been higher for Mary and her associates as they try to keep Machiavelli at bay, solve a murder, and save the law firm they love ... or they could lose everything they\u27ve worked for. -- Provided by publisherhttps://scholarship.law.ua.edu/harper_lee_prize_books_2019/1019/thumbnail.jp