'Education, education, education' : legal, moral and clinical

This article brings together Professor Donald Nicolson's intellectual interest in professional legal ethics and his long-standing involvement with law clinics both as an advisor at the University of Cape Town and Director of the University of Bristol Law Clinic and the University of Strathclyde Law Clinic. In this article he looks at how legal education may help start this process of character development, arguing that the best means is through student involvement in voluntary law clinics. And here he builds upon his recent article which argues for voluntary, community service oriented law clinics over those which emphasise the education of students

James Hutton’s geological tours of Scotland : romanticism, literary strategies, and the scientific quest

This article explores a somewhat neglected part of the story of the emergence of geology as a science and discourse in the late eighteenth century – James Hutton’s posthumously published accounts of the geological tours of Scotland that he undertook in the years 1785 to 1788 in search of empirical evidence in support of his theory of the Earth and that he intended to include in the projected third volume of his Theory of the Earth of 1795. The article brings some of the assumptions and techniques of literary criticism to bear on Hutton’s scientific travel writing in order to open up new connections between geology, Romantic aesthetics and eighteenth-century travel writing about Scotland. Close analysis of Hutton’s accounts of his field trips to Glen Tilt, Galloway and Arran, supplemented by later accounts of the discoveries at Jedburgh and Siccar Point, reveals the interplay between desire, travel and the scientific quest and foregrounds the textual strategies that Hutton uses to persuade his readers that they share in the experience of geological discovery and interpretation as ‘virtual witnesses’. As well as allowing us to revisit the interrelation between scientific theory and discovery, this article concludes that Hutton was a much better writer than he has been given credit for and suggests that if these geological tours had been published in 1795 they would have made it impossible for critics to dismiss him as an armchair geologist

Taking up the cudgels against gay rights? Trends and trajectories in African Christian theologies on homosexuality

Against the background of the HIV epidemic and the intense public controversy on homosexuality in African societies, this article investigates the discourses of academic African Christian theologians on homosexuality. Distinguishing some major strands in African theology, that is, inculturation, liberation, women’s and reconstruction theology, the article examines how the central concepts of culture, liberation, justice, and human rights function in these discourses. On the basis of a qualitative analysis of a large number of publications, the article shows that stances of African theologians are varying from silence and rejection to acceptance. Although many African theologians have taken up the cudgels against gay rights, some “dissident voices” break the taboo and develop more inclusive concepts of African identity and African Christianity

Enlargement of ribbons in zebrafish hair cells increases calcium currents, but disrupts afferent spontaneous activity and timing of stimulus onset.

In sensory hair cells of auditory and vestibular organs, the ribbon synapse is required for the precise encoding of a wide range of complex stimuli. Hair cells have a unique presynaptic structure-the synaptic ribbon-that organizes both synaptic vesicles and calcium channels at the active zone. Previous work has shown that hair-cell ribbon size is correlated with differences in postsynaptic activity. However, additional variability in postsynapse size presents a challenge to determining the specific role of ribbon size in sensory encoding. To selectively assess the impact of ribbon size on synapse function, we examined hair cells in transgenic zebrafish that have enlarged ribbons, without postsynaptic alterations. Morphologically, we found that enlarged ribbons had more associated vesicles and reduced presynaptic calcium-channel clustering. Functionally, hair cells with enlarged ribbons had larger global and ribbon-localized calcium currents. Afferent neuron recordings revealed that hair cells with enlarged ribbons resulted in reduced spontaneous spike rates. Additionally, despite larger presynaptic calcium signals, we observed fewer evoked spikes with longer latencies from stimulus onset. Taken together, our work indicates that hair-cell ribbon size influences the spontaneous spiking and the precise encoding of stimulus onset in afferent neurons.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTNumerous studies support that hair-cell ribbon size corresponds with functional sensitivity differences in afferent neurons and, in the case of inner hair cells of the cochlea, vulnerability to damage from noise trauma. Yet it is unclear whether ribbon size directly influences sensory encoding. Our study reveals that ribbon enlargement results in increased ribbon-localized calcium signals, yet reduces afferent spontaneous activity and disrupts the timing of stimulus onset-a distinct aspect of auditory and vestibular encoding. These observations suggest that varying ribbon size alone can influence sensory encoding, and give further insight into how hair cells transduce signals that cover a wide dynamic range of stimuli

Musculoskeletal pain and loneliness, social support and social engagement among older adults : analysis of the Oxford Pain, Activity and Lifestyle Cohort

Background: Musculoskeletal (MSK) pain is common in older adults. Physical and psychological consequences of MSK pain have been established, but it is also important to consider the social impact. We aimed to estimate the association between MSK pain and loneliness, social support and social engagement. Methods: We used baseline data from the Oxford Pain, Activity and Lifestyle study. Participants were community‐dwelling adults aged 65 years or older from across England. Participants reported demographic information, MSK pain by body site, loneliness, social support and social engagement. We categorised pain by body regions affected (upper limb, lower limb and spinal). Widespread pain was defined as pain in all three regions. We used logistic regression models to estimate associations between distribution of pain and social factors, controlling for covariates. Results: Of the 4977 participants analysed, 4193 (84.2%) reported any MSK pain, and one‐quarter (n = 1298) reported widespread pain. Individuals reporting any pain were more likely to report loneliness (OR [odds ratio]: 1.62; 95% CI [confidence interval]: 1.32–1.97) or insufficient social support (OR: 1.54; 95% CI: 1.08–2.19) compared to those reporting no pain. Widespread pain had the strongest association with loneliness (OR: 1.94; 95% CI: 1.53–2.46) and insufficient social support (OR: 1.71; 95% CI: 1.14–2.54). Pain was not associated with social engagement. Conclusions: Older adults commonly report MSK pain, which is associated with loneliness and perceived insufficiency of social support. This finding highlights to clinicians and researchers the need to consider social implications of MSK pain in addition to physical and psychological consequences

Bird pollination of Canary Island endemic plants

The Canary Islands are home to a guild of endemic, threatened bird pollinated plants. Previous work has suggested that these plants evolved floral traits as adaptations to pollination by flower specialist sunbirds, but subsequently they appear to be have co-opted passerine birds as sub-optimal pollinators. To test this idea we carried out a quantitative study of the pollination biology of three of the bird pollinated plants, Canarina canariensis (Campanulaceae), Isoplexis canariensis (Veronicaceae) and Lotus berthelotii (Fabaceae), on the island of Tenerife. Using colour vision models, we predicted the detectability of flowers to bird and bee pollinators. We measured pollinator visitation rates, nectar standing crops, as well as seed set and pollen removal and deposition. These data showed that the plants are effectively pollinated by non-flower specialist passerine birds that only occasionally visit flowers. The large nectar standing crops and extended flower longevities (>10days) of Canarina and Isoplexis suggests that they have evolved bird pollination system that effectively exploits these low frequency non-specialist pollen vectors and is in no way suboptimal. Seed set in two of the three species was high, and was significantly reduced or zero in flowers where pollinator access was restricted. In L. berthelotii, however, no fruit set was observed, probably because the plants were self incompatible horticultural clones of a single genet. We also show that, while all three species are easily detectable for birds, the orange Canarina and the red Lotus (but less so the yellow-orange Isoplexis) should be difficult to detect for insect pollinators without specialised red receptors, such as bumblebees. Contrary to expectations if we accept that the flowers are primarily adapted to sunbird pollination, the chiffchaff (Phylloscopus canariensis) was an effective pollinator of these species