Juries in fraud trials: a strong case for change

Editorial comment on press, public and professional discussion about the use of juries in fraud trials and the difficulty of presenting the prosecution’s case in matters involving complex financial and legal issues. Brief comment by George Staple QC published in Amicus Curiae - Journal of the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies and its Society for Advanced Legal Studies. The Journal is produced by the Society for Advanced Legal Studies at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, University of London

Involvement patterns: student involvement in the student community policing program at Rowan University

The use of student development theories such as student involvement and student engagement has become extremely important to administrators and student affairs professionals in higher education; however, few have examined their use in the Department of Public Safety. The purpose of this study was to investigate the involvement patterns of students in the Student Community Policing Program (SCPP). The study also investigated the impact of student involvement in these programs on students\u27 satisfaction with the Rowan University campus. The study was conducted at Rowan University, in Glassboro, New Jersey. The target population for this study was students at Rowan University during the academic year of 2010-2011. The instrument to assess students\u27 levels and patterns of engagement at Rowan University was adapted from a survey of student involvement used by Ohio University. An overall look at the responses dealing with student involvement levels and patterns of current student employees of SCPP at Rowan University indicated that student employees are generally involved on the Rowan University campus and with the program. A significant correlation was discovered during the analysis of the data involving involvement in specific activities. By a large majority, students at Rowan University were very involved in both academic and social activities. They reported a high level of satisfaction with their social involvement, academic atmosphere, campus atmosphere, and personal goal achievement

The Craigslist Father: Uncertain Law and Outcomes for Known Sperm Donors

Article published in the Michigan State University School of Law Student Scholarship Collection

A three-state model with loop entropy for the over-stretching transition of DNA

We introduce a three-state model for a single DNA chain under tension that distinguishes between B-DNA, S-DNA and M (molten or denatured) segments and at the same time correctly accounts for the entropy of molten loops, characterized by the exponent c in the asymptotic expression S ~ - c ln n for the entropy of a loop of length n. Force extension curves are derived exactly employing a generalized Poland-Scheraga approach and compared to experimental data. Simultaneous fitting to force-extension data at room temperature and to the denaturation phase transition at zero force is possible and allows to establish a global phase diagram in the force-temperature plane. Under a stretching force, the effects of the stacking energy, entering as a domain-wall energy between paired and unpaired bases, and the loop entropy are separated. Therefore we can estimate the loop exponent c independently from the precise value of the stacking energy. The fitted value for c is small, suggesting that nicks dominate the experimental force extension traces of natural DNA.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures + Supplementary informatio

Pseudoknots: RNA Structures with Diverse Functions

Just as proteins form distinct structural motifs, certain structures are commonly adopted by RNA molecules. Amongst the most prevalent is the RNA pseudoknot