The management of civil cases: a snapshot

Reports on research into the extent to which eight county courts have succeeded in using case management to fulfil the goals of the 1999 civil justice reforms. Reviews the main findings on whether the modifications have brought about a change in litigation culture, the practical application of the case management process, the use of experts, the role of case management conferences and the number of cases in which settlement occurs, including the impact of CPR Part 36. Discusses concerns relating to resources, court administration and the effect of the reforms on costs

A submonthly database for detecting changes in vegetation-atmosphere coupling

Land-atmosphere coupling and changes in coupling regimes are important for making precise future climate predictions and understanding vegetation-climate feedbacks. Here we introduce the Vegetation-Atmosphere Coupling (VAC) index which identifies regions and times of concurrent strong anomalies in temperature and photosynthetic activity. The different classes of the index determine whether a location is currently in an energy-limited or water-limited regime, and its high temporal resolution allows to investigate how these regimes change over time at the regional scale. We show that the VAC index helps to distinguish different evaporative regimes. It can therefore provide indirect information about the local soil moisture state. We further demonstrate how the index can be used to understand processes leading to and occurring during extreme climate events, using the 2010 heat wave in Russia and the 2010 Amazon drought as examples

Microbiomics of Oral Biofilms: Driving the Future of Dental Research

Oral infectious diseases such as dental caries, periodontal disease, endodontic infections, oral candidiasis and peri-implantitis cause major health problems worldwide. All of these infectious diseases are associated with the biofilm growth mode of the oral pathogens. In the past, researchers often attempted to examine the association of single pathogens with particular dental diseases such as in the case of Streptococcus mutans acting as an aetiological agent for dental caries and the so-called “red-complex” bacteria for periodontal disease. However, with the recent advent of OMICS biology techniques such as genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, it is possible to gain new insights into the host-microbial interaction, microbial community structure and composition in the oral cavity. The new studies on oral microbiomics can unravel the facets of the aetiopathology of oral diseases as never seen before. This mini-review will provide an history and overview of some of the existing DNA sequencing platforms employed to study the microbiomics of oral biofilms and the exciting future ahead for dental research. DOI : https://doi.org/10.26912/sdj.2017.01.01-0

Appraisal on composting and home gardening programme in Kinniya, Trincomalee

The Present survey was carried out from January-April 2015 to evaluate the current status of composting and home gardening programme in Kinniya. Solid waste was the major problem identified by the PCZRSM project in coastal areas of Kinniya. Several seeds and compost bins were provided by the project for identified households in 2014 to the success of home gardening activities. Main purpose of this activity is indirectly reduce the waste accumulation in coastal areas and make beneficial way as producing compost for home gardening in an effective way. Therefore it is essential for evaluation on the progress of the programme and it was conducted by the formulated questionnaire. The data on socio economic data, waste disposal, and home gardening was collected. Fifty families of samples in particular villages of Alangkerny, Sinnathodam, Eachantheevu and Mahroof Nagar were selected for the survey. The results revealed that the waste disposal into natural eco system was calculated as high percentage (40%) and smell problem was recorded as the main issue (40%) due to unregulated waste disposal before the awareness programme. According to the calculation, the awareness programme conducted by the PCZRSMP created best solution for the solid waste issue. People were encouraged to produce compost and highest portions of families (98%) utilizing compost for agriculture purposes while 2% of them sell their compost. Most of the people (98%) consider compost is an effective fertilizer. The calculation shows that the majority of the people are willing to continue the composting process hence it is an effective waste management method (90%). Most of the villages are satisfied with composting and home gardening programme and willing to continue in future also. Further, the continuous monitoring should be needed for success of the programme as well as for providing best livelihood for the people

PredictChain: Empowering Collaboration and Data Accessibility for AI in a Decentralized Blockchain-based Marketplace

Limited access to computing resources and training data poses significant challenges for individuals and groups aiming to train and utilize predictive machine learning models. Although numerous publicly available machine learning models exist, they are often unhosted, necessitating end-users to establish their computational infrastructure. Alternatively, these models may only be accessible through paid cloud-based mechanisms, which can prove costly for general public utilization. Moreover, model and data providers require a more streamlined approach to track resource usage and capitalize on subsequent usage by others, both financially and otherwise. An effective mechanism is also lacking to contribute high-quality data for improving model performance. We propose a blockchain-based marketplace called "PredictChain" for predictive machine-learning models to address these issues. This marketplace enables users to upload datasets for training predictive machine learning models, request model training on previously uploaded datasets, or submit queries to trained models. Nodes within the blockchain network, equipped with available computing resources, will operate these models, offering a range of archetype machine learning models with varying characteristics, such as cost, speed, simplicity, power, and cost-effectiveness. This decentralized approach empowers users to develop improved models accessible to the public, promotes data sharing, and reduces reliance on centralized cloud providers

C1 inhibitor deficiency: 2014 United Kingdom consensus document

C1 inhibitor deficiency is a rare disorder manifesting with recurrent attacks of disabling and potentially life-threatening angioedema. Here we present an updated 2014 United Kingdom consensus document for the management of C1 inhibitor-deficient patients, representing a joint venture between the United Kingdom Primary Immunodeficiency Network and Hereditary Angioedema UK. To develop the consensus, we assembled a multi-disciplinary steering group of clinicians, nurses and a patient representative. This steering group first met in 2012, developing a total of 48 recommendations across 11 themes. The statements were distributed to relevant clinicians and a representative group of patients to be scored for agreement on a Likert scale. All 48 statements achieved a high degree of consensus, indicating strong alignment of opinion. The recommendations have evolved significantly since the 2005 document, with particularly notable developments including an improved evidence base to guide dosing and indications for acute treatment, greater emphasis on home therapy for acute attacks and a strong focus on service organisation. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Land-atmospheric feedbacks during droughts and heatwaves : state of the science and current challenges

Droughts and heatwaves cause agricultural loss, forest mortality, and drinking water scarcity, especially when they occur simultaneously as combined events. Their predicted increase in recurrence and intensity poses serious threats to future food security. Still today, the knowledge of how droughts and heatwaves start and evolve remains limited, and so does our understanding of how climate change may affect them. Droughts and heatwaves have been suggested to intensify and propagate via land-atmosphere feedbacks. However, a global capacity to observe these processes is still lacking, and climate and forecast models are immature when it comes to representing the influences of land on temperature and rainfall. Key open questions remain in our goal to uncover the real importance of these feedbacks: What is the impact of the extreme meteorological conditions on ecosystem evaporation? How do these anomalies regulate the atmospheric boundary layer state (event self-intensification) and contribute to the inflow of heat and moisture to other regions (event self-propagation)? Can this knowledge on the role of land feedbacks, when available, be exploited to develop geo-engineering mitigation strategies that prevent these events from aggravating during their early stages? The goal of our perspective is not to present a convincing answer to these questions, but to assess the scientific progress to date, while highlighting new and innovative avenues to keep advancing our understanding in the future