The Video Deposition as a Civil Litigation Tool

This Comment reports the findings of a research project on the video deposition\u27s place in litigation. Professor Thomas P. Anderson, Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law, supervised the project. The paper looks at video depositions from three perspectives. The first perspective outlines 30(b)(4)\u27s evolution through the court\u27s interpretation of the rule. The second perspective synthesizes the many suggestions on video deposition production found in legal journals. The third perspective analyzes and collates empirical data collected from attorneys and jurors who participated in nine civil trials which used video depositions in the North Carolina Superior Court system. The empirical data also include data supplied by forty North Carolina Superior Court judges about video deposition use in their courts

The Video Deposition as a Civil Litigation Tool

This Comment reports the findings of a research project on the video deposition\u27s place in litigation. Professor Thomas P. Anderson, Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law, supervised the project. The paper looks at video depositions from three perspectives. The first perspective outlines 30(b)(4)\u27s evolution through the court\u27s interpretation of the rule. The second perspective synthesizes the many suggestions on video deposition production found in legal journals. The third perspective analyzes and collates empirical data collected from attorneys and jurors who participated in nine civil trials which used video depositions in the North Carolina Superior Court system. The empirical data also include data supplied by forty North Carolina Superior Court judges about video deposition use in their courts

Genome-wide association study of MRI markers of cerebral small vessel disease in 42,310 participants

Abstract: Cerebral small vessel disease is a major cause of stroke and dementia, but its genetic basis is incompletely understood. We perform a genetic study of three MRI markers of the disease in UK Biobank imaging data and other sources: white matter hyperintensities (N = 42,310), fractional anisotropy (N = 17,663) and mean diffusivity (N = 17,467). Our aim is to better understand the disease pathophysiology. Across the three traits, we identify 31 loci, of which 21 were previously unreported. We perform a transcriptome-wide association study to identify associations with gene expression in relevant tissues, identifying 66 associated genes across the three traits. This genetic study provides insights into the understanding of the biological mechanisms underlying small vessel disease

The correlation between reading and mathematics ability at age twelve has a substantial genetic component

Dissecting how genetic and environmental influences impact on learning is helpful for maximizing numeracy and literacy. Here we show, using twin and genome-wide analysis, that there is a substantial genetic component to children’s ability in reading and mathematics, and estimate that around one half of the observed correlation in these traits is due to shared genetic effects (so-called Generalist Genes). Thus, our results highlight the potential role of the learning environment in contributing to differences in a child’s cognitive abilities at age twelve

Localisation of RNAs into the germ plasm of vitellogenic xenopus oocytes

We have studied the localisation of mRNAs in full-grown Xenopus laevis oocytes by injecting fluorescent RNAs, followed by confocal microscopy of the oocyte cortex. Concentrating on RNA encoding the Xenopus Nanos homologue, nanos1 (formerly Xcat2), we find that it consistently localised into aggregated germ plasm ribonucleoprotein (RNP) particles, independently of cytoskeletal integrity. This implies that a diffusion/entrapment-mediated mechanism is active, as previously reported for previtellogenic oocytes. Sometimes this was accompanied by localisation into scattered particles of the “late”, Vg1/VegT pathway; occasionally only late pathway localisation was seen. The Xpat RNA behaved in an identical fashion and for neither RNA was the localisation changed by any culture conditions tested. The identity of the labelled RNP aggregates as definitive germ plasm was confirmed by their inclusion of abundant mitochondria and co-localisation with the germ plasm protein Hermes. Further, the nanos1/Hermes RNP particles are interspersed with those containing the germ plasm protein Xpat. These aggregates may be followed into the germ plasm of unfertilized eggs, but with a notable reduction in its quantity, both in terms of injected molecules and endogenous structures. Our results conflict with previous reports that there is no RNA localisation in large oocytes, and that during mid-oogenesis even germ plasm RNAs localise exclusively by the late pathway. We find that in mid oogenesis nanos1 RNA also localises to germ plasm but also by the late pathway. Late pathway RNAs, Vg1 and VegT, also may localise into germ plasm. Our results support the view that mechanistically the two modes of localisation are extremely similar, and that in an injection experiment RNAs might utilise either pathway, the distinction in fates being very subtle and subject to variation. We discuss these results in relation to their biological significance and the results of others

Lafite in China

Increased economic power has positioned China within the global elite, yet China’s legitimacy remains low with regard to hierarchies of taste. Drawing from Bourdieu and Elias, this article offers an account of the global dynamics of status contests, and the role played by cultural capital and notions of civility and vulgarity. Specifically, we examine how U.S., UK, and Chinese media represent Chinese consumption of fine wine, and particularly that of Château Lafite, in the 2000 to 2013 period. Our analysis reveals four major ways in which Chinese fine wine consumption is framed—as vulgar, popular, functional, and discerning—and highlights tensions between Western and Chinese terms of cultural legitimacy. The research uncovers nuanced dimensions to the “East/West” divide in terms of the grades of cultural capital, competing logics of valuation, and modes of civility at play. Macromarketing implications of fine wine consumption in a fragmented and complex market are discussed

Exercise Capacity in Patients With Obstructive Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy:SEQUOIA-HCM Baseline Characteristics and Study Design

Patients with obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (oHCM) have increased risk of arrhythmia, stroke, heart failure, and sudden death. Contemporary management of oHCM has decreased annual hospitalization and mortality rates, yet patients have worsening health-related quality of life due to impaired exercise capacity and persistent residual symptoms. Here we consider the design of clinical trials evaluating potential oHCM therapies in the context of SEQUOIA-HCM (Safety, Efficacy, and Quantitative Understanding of Obstruction Impact of Aficamten in HCM). This large, phase 3 trial is now fully enrolled (N = 282). Baseline characteristics reflect an ethnically diverse population with characteristics typical of patients encountered clinically with substantial functional and symptom burden. The study will assess the effect of aficamten vs placebo, in addition to standard-of-care medications, on functional capacity and symptoms over 24 weeks. Future clinical trials could model the approach in SEQUOIA-HCM to evaluate the effect of potential therapies on the burden of oHCM. (Safety, Efficacy, and Quantitative Understanding of Obstruction Impact of Aficamten in HCM [SEQUOIA-HCM]; NCT05186818).</p

Inefficient Quality Control of Thermosensitive Proteins on the Plasma Membrane

BACKGROUND: Misfolded proteins are generally recognised by cellular quality control machinery, which typically results in their ubiquitination and degradation. For soluble cytoplasmic proteins, degradation is mediated by the proteasome. Membrane proteins that fail to fold correctly are subject to ER associated degradation (ERAD), which involves their extraction from the membrane and subsequent proteasome-dependent destruction. Proteins with abnormal transmembrane domains can also be recognised in the Golgi or endosomal system and targeted for destruction in the vacuole/lysosome. It is much less clear what happens to membrane proteins that reach their destination, such as the cell surface, and then suffer damage. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We have tested the ability of yeast cells to degrade membrane proteins to which temperature-sensitive cytoplasmic alleles of the Ura3 protein or of phage lambda repressor have been fused. In soluble form, these proteins are rapidly degraded upon temperature shift, in part due to the action of the Doa10 and San1 ubiquitin ligases and the proteasome. When tethered to the ER protein Use1, they are also degraded. However, when tethered to a plasma membrane protein such as Sso1 they escape degradation, either in the vacuole or by the proteasome. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Membrane proteins with a misfolded cytoplasmic domain appear not to be efficiently recognised and degraded once they have escaped the ER, even though their defective domains are exposed to the cytoplasm and potentially to cytoplasmic quality controls. Membrane tethering may provide a way to reduce degradation of unstable proteins

Multiwavelength Monitoring of the BL Lacertae Object PKS 2155-304 in May 1994. I. The Ground-Based Campaign

Optical, near-infrared, and radio observations of the BL Lac object PKS2155-304 were obtained simultaneously with a continuous UV/EUV/X-ray monitoring campaign in 1994 May. Further optical observations were gathered throughout most of 1994. The radio, millimeter, and near-infrared data show no strong correlations with the higher energies. The optical light curves exhibit flickering of 0.2-0.3 mag on timescales of 1-2 days, superimposed on longer timescale variations. Rapid variations of ~0.01 mag/min, which, if real, are the fastest seen to date for any BL Lac object. Small (0.2-0.3 mag) increases in the V and R bands occur simultaneously with a flare seen at higher energies. All optical wavebands (UBVRI) track each other well over the period of observation with no detectable delay. For most of the period the average colors remain relatively constant, although there is a tendency for the colors (in particular B-V) to vary more when the source fades. In polarized light, PKS 2155-304 showed strong color dependence and the highest optical polarization (U = 14.3%) ever observed for this source. The polarization variations trace the flares seen in the ultraviolet flux.Comment: 45 pages, latex file with encapsulated postscript, accepted to the Astrophysical Journa