SECRET \u3cem\u3eFAITS ACCOMPLIS\u3c/em\u3e: DECLINATION DECISIONS, NONPROSECUTION AGREEMENTS, AND THE CRIME VICTIM’S RIGHT TO CONFER

The state’s monopoly power over the institution of prosecution is a feature as familiar as any in the American criminal justice system. That the criminal proceeding is between the state and the defendant leaves little doubt as to the identities of the victimized interest and the offender. But, in avenging societal harm alone, the criminal process treats another victim—the crime victim— as an outcast. Beginning in the 1970s, the victim’s rights movement mobilized to address this institutional neglect, and, by most accounts, it has triumphed. Federal and state victim’s rights laws now empower victims to attend criminal proceedings, deliver impact statements at sentencings, and collect restitution awards. Perhaps no statutory right is as emblematic of the victim’s acquired prominence in the criminal process than the right to confer with the prosecutor, codified in the federal Crime Victims’ Rights Act of 2004 and in most states’ laws. Conferral seems an intuitive mechanism to facilitate information transfer regarding developments in a case. What remains unclear, however, is whether the law contemplates the existence of a conferral right when there is no case. What, if any, are prosecutors’ obligations to confer with crime victims if they ultimately decline to bring charges? This Note illustrates that victim exclusion, especially at the outset, portends adverse consequences for both victims and the proper functioning of the criminal process. In most jurisdictions, prosecutors are under no legal obligation to confer with victims about their declination decisions, owing primarily to a judicial reluctance to circumscribe and a statutory intent to preserve prosecutorial discretion. This Note proposes that prosecutors’ offices promulgate internal guidelines to encourage—and, in some cases require—victim conferral prior to a declination decision. The guidelines would not aim to disturb such a decision nor would they create untenable administrative burdens for criminal justice actors or frustrate their discretion. Rather, they are animated by principles of procedural justice that emphasize process over outcome and thus seek to encourage meaningful conferral where victims are kept informed and their opinions solicited

Assessment of morphological and functional changes in neonate vitrified testis grafts after host treatment with melatonin

This study was conducted to assess the effect of melatonin on the structure of testis and spermatogenesis dynamics in neonate vitrified testis grafts. Neonate vitrified testes, candidates for transplantation heterotopically to experiment or control groups, were warmed in thawing media which had or did not have a supplement of 100 μM melatonin, respectively. Following transplantation, melatonin (20 mg/ /kg/day) or saline solution was intraperitoneally injected into the treated and the non-treated groups, respectively. The initiating spermatogenesis, spermatogonia survival, and structure of tissue in the testis graft were examined. Cell apoptosis (TUNEL assay) and proliferation (Brdu assay) in germ cells were determined. Histological studies revealed the dynamic of the spermatogenesis process in the vitrified testis graft. However, dilation of the lumen accompanied by a disorganised epithelium in the non-treated group was higher than in the treated group. Furthermore, the proportion of apoptotic germ cells together with a reduced proportion of proliferated germ cells was higher in the non-treated group than in the treated group. Overall, the number of seminiferous tubules in the testes grafts of both groups remained steady. However, the non-treated testes grafts contained more damaged seminiferous tubules than the treated ones. The thickness of the seminiferous tubules was greater in the melatonin treated group than in the non-treated group. In fact, the thickness of germinal epithelium was significantly higher in the treated group than in the non-treated group. The study may show a positive effect from melatonin resulting in more grafts restoring puberty. Furthermore, the associated increase in the healthy number of seminiferous tubules suggests that melatonin may have a preventative ischaemia/antioxidant role and in fact may be useful to initiate the spermatogenesis process. (Folia Morphol 2011; 70, 2: 95–102

Synthesis of the erythromycin-conjugated nanodendrimer and its antibacterial activity

Abstract The development and spread of bacterial resistance to antimicrobial drugs necessitates the need to search for novel and effective antimicrobial agents. In the last few decades, innovative nanomaterials are attracting increasing attention and, among them, dendrimers have shown wide application in the various fields. In the current study, the two generations of an anionic linear- spherical nanodendrimer G1 and G2 were synthetized and compound G2 of nanodendrimer conjugated with erythromycin. The structures of the nanodendrimers were characterized by FTIR spectroscopy, zetasizer, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The antibacterial activity of the erythromycin-conjugated nanodendrimer and erythromycin alone were evaluated by the microdilution method against Staphylococcus aureus, S. epidermidis, S. saprophyticus, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The size of first and second generation of nanodendrimer, and the erythromycin-conjugated nanodendrimer was 75, 95, and 65.6 nm, respectively. The drug loading percentage of the nanodendrimer conjugates was obtained to be in 35.2%. In our study, the erythromycin-conjugated nanodendrimer showed significantly more bacteriostatic and bactericidal activities against all four studied bacteria than erythromycin alone. Our study's results highlight that the erythromycin-conjugated nanodendrimer is a highly effective agent against Gram positive and negative bacteria. The antibacterial properties of erythromycin combined with the targeting potential of the nanodendrimer can lead to sustained intracellular delivery of therapeutic agent Keywords: Nanostructures Erythromycin Dendrimers Antibacterial agents

Experimental pathology of Streptococcus sp. in Rainbow Trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss

Experimental pathology of Streptococcus sp. was studied in Rainbow Trout weighing 18-20 grams each using bath (1.5t10 ^(3) 1.5t10 ^ (4), 1.5t10 ^ (5), 1.5t10 ^ (6) 1.5t10 ^ (7).5t10 ^ (8) cell/ml for one hour) and intraperitoneal (1.5t10 ^ (3) 1.5t10 ^ (4) 1.5t10 ^ (5), 1.5t10 ^ (6), 1.5t10 ^ (7) 1.5t10 ^ (8) cell/fish) challenges provided at 18C. Control groups were included by intraperitoneal injection of fish with sterile phosphate buffered saline (0.5 ml/fish) after anesthetizing fish with clove oil (100 mg/l). Six groups consisting of 12 fish each were used. No morbidity or mortality occurred in bath-immersion groups, while mortality occurred in intraperitoneally injected fish 24 hours post-challenge and reached LD _(50) at 1.5tl0 ^ (8) cell/fish 72 hours post-challenge. The affected fish showed anorexia, darkening of body, exophthalmia, and prolapsed anal abdominal distension. In histopathological sections, there were hyperemia and sinusoidal congestion plus necrosis and degeneration of liver hepatocytes. Also, hyperemia in heart tissue, an increase in interstitial tissue plus necrosis of kidney tubular, edema of Bowman capsules together with an increase in melano macrophage centers of kidney tissues were seen. In addition, congestion of spleen ellipsoids and necrosis of spleen cells were observable. Detachment of basal membrane of secondary lamella with infiltration of inflammatory cells, congestion and edema of menangial layers, hemorrhage in orbital adipose tissue and destruction of eye cornea were also observable

Weeds response to the biocontrol agents in integration with reduced rates of herbicide

Field experiment was conducted to study the biological agents efficacy in combination with reduced doses of new generation herbicide (Verdict) in four rates (0, 0,2, 0,3 and 0,5 kg/ha) to control weeds in winter wheat ( Triticum aestivum L. ), trial was laid out in a randomized complete block design with four replications at Moscow research institute of agriculture, Nemchinovka, Russia. Result indicated that recommended dose as 0,5 kg/ha in combination with biological agents was quite effective in reducing density and dry weight of Viola arvensis and Poaceae . Thus, intermediate Verdict rate as 0,3 kg/ha + biological agents also had appropriate effect in reducing dry weight and density both of V. arvensis and Poaceae . Stelaria media was affected and diminished by each three of treatments desirably compared to control

Optimization of vapex over consumption in one of the heavy oil cleft store

The process of solvent vapor extraction is a recycling method for the heavy oil application that the light hydrocarbon vapor is used as a solvent to reduce the heavy oil viscosity. The primary low recycling and the lower production flow compared with the thermal methods have faced the field applications with limitation due to the slow identity of the solvent penetration procedure in the heavy oil,. So in order to optimize and increase the production in this process, a simulation study was performed on one of the heavy oil cleft store of Iran and the solutions were presented to increase the oil recycling in this process. At first after construction of a cleft two dimensional store with multiple blocks that show the solvent vapor flowing in the cleft net, the optimization process was analyzed around two axes. First the optimization strategies presented to optimize the constructed solvent system injection in the process. Then the formation and distance between producing wells and injection on the process performance and the best condition were evaluated and developed. The results showed that the solvent composition injection method  through the producing well in addition to produce the injecting well in first ten days of process with more pressure and the well formation model with subsidiary distance and the vertical determined distance, the most optimized producing performance was presented compared to other plans, this results increase the security about the field application in the VAPEX process at cleft storesKey terms: optimization, solvent vapor extraction, heavy oil, cleft stores, wells  formatio

Effects of mindful parenting training on clinical symptoms in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and parenting stress: Randomized controlled trial

Abstract Background: Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are at risk of impairment in multiple domains. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of mindful parenting training in reducing clinical symptoms in children with ADHD and parenting stress of their parents. Methods: This randomized clinical trial was conducted on 2 groups (experimental and control) in 3 phases (pretest, posttest, and 8 weeks’ follow-up). Sixty children with ADHD, who had been referred by the child psychiatrist in the Iranian city of Kashan in the second half of the year 2016, were selected along with their mothers. The mothers were assigned to one of the 2 groups via permuted blocked randomization. The mothers completed the parenting stress index–short form (PSI–SF 36) and the Swanson, Nolan, and Pelham Parent and Teacher rating scale (SNAP-IV). All the children in both groups received pharmacotherapy with either risperidone or Ritalin. The intervention group received 8 sessions (1 session each week, each session lasting 90 minutes) of mindful parenting training based on the Kabat-Zinn protocol. The data were analyzed using SPSS, version 20, via the t test, χ2 test, repeated measures analysis of variance, and nonparametric Friedman test. Results: This study showed a reduction in parenting stress, negative parent-child interactions, and children’s problematic characteristics in the mindful parenting training group compared with the control group in the posttest and follow-up. Our results also demonstrated a significant improvement in ADHD symptoms in the experimental group by comparison with the control group in the posttest and follow-up. Conclusion: Mindful parenting training was effective in reducing parenting stress and ADHD symptoms in our intervention group. Keywords ● Mindfulness ● Attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity ● Parenting ● Stress ● Physiologica

AFLP-analysis of genetic diversity in soybean [Glycine max (l.) Merr.] cultivars Russian and foreign selection

ArticleGenetic diversity of 11 cultivars of soybean (Glycine max) from a VIR (N.I. Vavilov Institute of Plant Genetic Resources) collection was analyzed by the AFLP (amplified fragment length polymorphism) technique. From 18 tested primer combinations, both of them were selected for further analysis. From these two primer combinations (E32/M60 and E32/M59), 90 DNA fragments were obtained, 39 (43%) of them were polymorphic. Unique DNA fragments were found in accessions SibNIISHoz 6, Soer-4, Determinant. The Jaccard's similarity indices varied from 0.79 (between Sonata and Ugra) to 0.94 (between Ugra and Garmoniya) with an average of 0.775. Cluster analysis placed the cultivars into the several groups but separation in groups was not related to their origin or biological characteristics, even though cultivars Nordik and Soer-4 (cultivars recommended for Central Black Earth region of Russia) clustered together on the dendrogram. The obtained high values of Jaccard genetic similarity index and low level of polymorphism and differentiation illustrated a relatively low genetic diversity in our studied cultivars, which correlated with different other studies on soybean genetic diversity with AFLP-analysis

Overcoming the challenges of cancer drug resistance through bacterial-mediated therapy.

Despite tremendous efforts to fight cancer, it remains a major public health problem and a leading cause of death worldwide. With increased knowledge of cancer pathways and improved technological platforms, precision therapeutics that specifically target aberrant cancer pathways have improved patient outcomes. Nevertheless, a primary cause of unsuccessful cancer therapy remains cancer drug resistance. In this review, we summarize the broad classes of resistance to cancer therapy, particularly pharmacokinetics, the tumor microenvironment, and drug resistance mechanisms. Furthermore, we describe how bacterial-mediated cancer therapy, a bygone mode of treatment, has been revitalized by synthetic biology and is uniquely suited to address the primary resistance mechanisms that confound traditional therapies. Through genetic engineering, we discuss how bacteria can be potent anticancer agents given their tumor targeting potential, anti-tumor activity, safety, and coordinated delivery of anti-cancer drugs