You Help Me, He Helps You: Dispute Systems Design in the Sharing Economy

Kulp and Kool discuss the potential for dispute resolution schemes in a sharing economy, one they argue involves a more efficient use of resources. The sharing economy is at the nexus of fast-paced technology that connects people to previously inaccessible resources to increase local consumption. Kulp and Kool argue that such sharing economies maximize the benefits of ownership by leveraging goods and services into a resource generator allowing increased access to goods and services at a lower-than-market rate. This unique market structure requires a distinct set of laws to address the unique relationships involved, and this Article explores how attorneys can best assist in managing conflicts in a sharing economy

Legal Deserts: A Multi-State Perspective on Rural Access to Justice

Rural America faces an increasingly dire access-to-justice crisis, which serves to exacerbate the already disproportionate share of social problems afflicting rural areas. One critical aspect of the crisis is the dearth of information and research regarding the extent of the problem and its impacts. This Article begins to fill that gap by providing surveys of rural access to justice in six geographically, demographically, and economically varied states: California, Georgia, Maine, Minnesota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. In addition to providing insights about the distinct rural challenges confronting each of these states, the legal resources available, and existing policy responses, the Article explores common themes that emerge through this multi-state lens, with particular attention to the rural attorney shortage, thus framing a richer, broader discussion of rural access to justice. Written for a special issue on Revitalizing Rural, this Article ultimately proposes a two-step approach to alleviate rural justice deficits. First, although the information presented here provides a solid foundation, a critical need remains for ongoing, careful, and thoughtful study of the legal needs and lack of legal resources in rural areas. Second, the unique institutional, structural, and demographic characteristics of rural areas will require tailored, innovative, and data-driven solutions to match appropriate legal services with needs. We advocate a re-thinking of the roles of many justice system stakeholders, including the critical steps that legal educators can and should take to help close the rural-urban justice gap. Our hope is that this Article will inform and expand access-to-justice conversations so that they more intentionally address the legal needs of the vast rural reaches of our nation, thus furthering the ultimate goal of realizing access to justice for all Americans

Medulloblastoma Exome Sequencing Uncovers Subtype-Specific Somatic Mutations

Medulloblastomas are the most common malignant brain tumors in children1. Identifying and understanding the genetic events that drive these tumors is critical for the development of more effective diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic strategies. Recently, our group and others described distinct molecular subtypes of medulloblastoma based on transcriptional and copy number profiles2–5. Here, we utilized whole exome hybrid capture and deep sequencing to identify somatic mutations across the coding regions of 92 primary medulloblastoma/normal pairs. Overall, medulloblastomas exhibit low mutation rates consistent with other pediatric tumors, with a median of 0.35 non-silent mutations per megabase. We identified twelve genes mutated at statistically significant frequencies, including previously known mutated genes in medulloblastoma such as CTNNB1, PTCH1, MLL2, SMARCA4 and TP53. Recurrent somatic mutations were identified in an RNA helicase gene, DDX3X, often concurrent with CTNNB1 mutations, and in the nuclear co-repressor (N-CoR) complex genes GPS2, BCOR, and LDB1, novel findings in medulloblastoma. We show that mutant DDX3X potentiates transactivation of a TCF promoter and enhances cell viability in combination with mutant but not wild type beta-catenin. Together, our study reveals the alteration of Wnt, Hedgehog, histone methyltransferase and now N-CoR pathways across medulloblastomas and within specific subtypes of this disease, and nominates the RNA helicase DDX3X as a component of pathogenic beta-catenin signaling in medulloblastoma

Conceptualising Rural Access to Justice as Supply Chains Primed for Transformation

This chapter is shared with express permission of Bloomsbury Academic. The full book is available at: https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/access-to-justice-in-rural-communities-9781509951642/The justice gap persists in many rural parts of the world due to a confluence of economic, cultural, and professional factors at play throughout the justice system and society at large. This justice gap means that people in rural areas experience institutions of justice – including access to lawyers and other legal advice – differently than people in urban areas. Travel, distance, the rural lawyer shortage, and other factors create this difference. No single factor or institution can be blamed for the rural lawyer shortage or the inability of many rural people to otherwise adequately resolve the legal issues in their lives, nor can any single person or programme fix the rural lawyer shortage or meet presently unmet rural legal needs. In this chapter we propose an alternative understanding of the rural lawyer shortage and the rural access to justice crisis, one that frames the myriad rural access to justice challenges as a host of opportunities yet to be leveraged in concert rather than as a series of discrete legal resources intended to address discrete legal problems. Through this broader lens, the entirety of the rural justice gap can be conceptualised as a poorly calibrated supply chain, ready for transformation

Shackling sector development: Leased lines in the Republic of South Africa

Rural America faces an increasingly dire access-to-justice crisis, which serves to exacerbate the already disproportionate share of social problems afflicting rural areas. One critical aspect of the crisis is the dearth of information and research regarding the extent of the problem and its impacts. This Article begins to fill that gap by providing surveys of rural access to justice in six geographically, demographically, and economically varied states: California, Georgia, Maine, Minnesota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. In addition to providing insights about the distinct rural challenges confronting each of these states, the legal resources available, and existing policy responses, the Article explores common themes that emerge through this multi-state lens, with particular attention to the rural attorney shortage, thus framing a richer, broader discussion of rural access to justice. Written for a special issue on Revitalizing Rural, this Article ultimately proposes a two-step approach to alleviate rural justice deficits. First, although the information presented here provides a solid foundation, a critical need remains for ongoing, careful, and thoughtful study of the legal needs and lack of legal resources in rural areas. Second, the unique institutional, structural, and demographic characteristics of rural areas will require tailored, innovative, and data-driven solutions to match appropriate legal services with needs. We advocate a re-thinking of the roles of many justice system stakeholders, including the critical steps that legal educators can and should take to help close the rural-urban justice gap. Our hope is that this Article will inform and expand access-to-justice conversations so that they more intentionally address the legal needs of the vast rural reaches of our nation, thus furthering the ultimate goal of realizing access to justice for all Americans

Lessons learned at the interface of marine ecology and environmental management in Australia

Marine scientists and environmentalmanagers engaged in a roundtable discussion at the Australian Marine Sciences Association conference in July 2014 to identify areas where linkages could be improved between the two groups. Here, we summarize the key themes and outcomes from the discussion, including the need to clearly define management objectives, to identify the scale of the issue, to conduct effective science communication, to address uncertainty, and to perform iterative engagement. We also discuss some of the challenges inherent in establishing new linkages, and provide a set of examples where effective collaborations have been achieved between marine ecologists and environmental managers working in Australia

Aldehyde dehydrogenase 3A1 activation prevents radiation-induced xerostomia by protecting salivary stem cells from toxic aldehydes.

Xerostomia (dry mouth) is the most common side effect of radiation therapy in patients with head and neck cancer and causes difficulty speaking and swallowing. Since aldehyde dehydrogenase 3A1 (ALDH3A1) is highly expressed in mouse salivary stem/progenitor cells (SSPCs), we sought to determine the role of ALDH3A1 in SSPCs using genetic loss-of-function and pharmacologic gain-of-function studies. Using DarkZone dye to measure intracellular aldehydes, we observed higher aldehyde accumulation in irradiated Aldh3a1-/- adult murine salisphere cells and in situ in whole murine embryonic salivary glands enriched in SSPCs compared with wild-type glands. To identify a safe ALDH3A1 activator for potential clinical testing, we screened a traditional Chinese medicine library and isolated d-limonene, commonly used as a food-flavoring agent, as a single constituent activator. ALDH3A1 activation by d-limonene significantly reduced aldehyde accumulation in SSPCs and whole embryonic glands, increased sphere-forming ability, decreased apoptosis, and improved submandibular gland structure and function in vivo after radiation. A phase 0 study in patients with salivary gland tumors showed effective delivery of d-limonene into human salivary glands following daily oral dosing. Given its safety and bioavailability, d-limonene may be a good clinical candidate for mitigating xerostomia in patients with head and neck cancer receiving radiation therapy