Political E-Mail: Protected Speech or Unwelcome Spam?

Candidates for political office are using unsolicited bulk e-mails to reach the electorate. Commonly known as political spam, this campaign tactic is an inexpensive supplement to television, radio, and print ads. Advocates claim that campaigning via the internet reduces candidates\u27 dependence on fundraising, but critics detest political spam as the latest nuisance. This iBrief examines the legal basis for political spam, distinguishes political spam from analogous regulated speech, and argues that political spam serves an interest worth protecting

Can the Internet Kill? Holding Web Investigators Liable for Their Criminal Customers

As the wealth of online information grows, private investigation websites are becoming more powerful and popular. Their client lists include attorneys, insurance agencies, banks, neighbors, employers, and, oh yes, stalkers and identity thieves. When a stalker used information from a web investigator to track down and kill his victim, the New Hampshire Supreme Court held the investigator liable for its customer\u27s criminal acts. This iBrief considers how far liability should extend for a web investigator, distinguishes web investigators from handgun and bullet retailers, and explains how this decision realizes a policy against privacy invasions

Policing Online Pharmacies: Bioterrorism Meets the War on Drugs

In light of the recent terrorists attacks and the increasing threat of bioterrorism, many U.S. citizens have turned to the Internet in an attempt to gather the supplies needed to protect them and their loved ones. Central to the effort is the increased purchasing of prescription drugs over the Internet. This iBrief explores the benefits and risks to consumers from buying drugs online, and examines recent initiatives to police the online pharmacy industry

Carnivore: Will It Devour Your Privacy?

Perhaps you have written an e-mail that looks something like this

Room for growth:A qualitative study into the therapeutic experiences of consensually non-monogamous clients in the United Kingdom

Introduction: Previous research shows a dearth of literature relating to the therapeutic experiences of the consensually non-monogamous (CNM) population. Research Question and Aims: We aim to understand the experiences of CNM clients in mental healthcare with a view to improving services. Method: This is an online, questionnaire-based qualitative study. Participants (n = 19) were CNM individuals who had accessed mental healthcare in the UK and disclosed being a part of CNM to their practitioner. They were recruited through social media and internet forums. Some ethical considerations included the vulnerability of this population and concerns over anonymity. Thematic analysis of the data was conducted. Findings: Three main themes were identified, these were ‘stigma’, ‘pathologisation’ and ‘barriers to openness within the therapeutic alliance’. Conclusion: It is theorized that societal mononormativity impacts both clients and practitioners within mental healthcare. For clients this compounds minority stress and results in experiences of fear of disclosure in anticipation of stigma. For practitioners, this mononormativity manifests in stigmatizing assumptions and the pathologisation of CNM in clients. Taken together, this culminates in a lack of openness and damage to the therapeutic alliance. This means care is ineffective and potentially harmful. Ways of mitigating this, including education and the development of meta skills, are explored.</p

Designer reefs and coral probiotics: great concepts but are they good practice?

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New disease outbreak affects two dominant sea urchin species associated with Australian temperate reefs

Diseases of sea urchins have been implicated in dramatic transitions of marine ecosystems. Although no definitive causal agent has been found for many of these outbreaks, mostare hypothesised to be waterborne and bacterial. Here we show the first report of a novel diseaseaffecting at least 2 species of urchins off the south-eastern coast of Australia. The aetiologicalagent, identified via a range of molecular techniques, immuno-histology and inoculation experi-ments, was found to be the opportunistic pathogen Vibrio anguillarum . The disease appears to betemperature-dependent, with a faster transmission rate and increase in prevalence during ex -perimental trials conducted at higher temperatures. Furthermore, analysis of long-term field datasuggests that it may have already reached epidemic proportions. With the increases in ocean temperatures brought about by climate change, this novel urchin disease may pose a severe problem for the organisms associated with the temperate reefs off Australia and/or the ecosystemas a whole

The stellar mass - size relation for cluster galaxies at z=1 with high angular resolution from the Gemini/GeMS multi-conjugate adaptive optics system

We present the stellar mass - size relation for 49 galaxies within the $z$ = 1.067 cluster SPT-CL J0546$-$5345, with FWHM $\sim$80-120 mas $K_{\mathrm s}$-band data from the Gemini multi-conjugate adaptive optics system (GeMS/GSAOI). This is the first such measurement in a cluster environment, performed at sub-kpc resolution at rest-frame wavelengths dominated by the light of the underlying old stellar populations. The observed stellar mass - size relation is offset from the local relation by 0.21 dex, corresponding to a size evolution proportional to $(1+z)^{-1.25}$, consistent with the literature. The slope of the stellar mass - size relation $\beta$ = 0.74 $\pm$ 0.06, consistent with the local relation. The absence of slope evolution indicates that the amount of size growth is constant with stellar mass. This suggests that galaxies in massive clusters such as SPT-CL J0546$-$5345 grow via processes that increase the size without significant morphological interference, such as minor mergers and/or adiabatic expansion. The slope of the cluster stellar mass - size relation is significantly shallower if measured in $HST$/ACS imaging at wavelengths blueward of the Balmer break, similar to rest-frame UV relations at $z$ = 1 in the literature. The stellar mass - size relation must be measured at redder wavelengths, which are more sensitive to the old stellar population that dominates the stellar mass of the galaxies. The slope is unchanged when GeMS $K_s$-band imaging is degraded to the resolution of $K$-band HST/NICMOS resolution but dramatically affected when degraded to $K_s$-band Magellan/FourStar resolution. Such measurements must be made with AO in order to accurately characterise the sizes of compact, $z$ = 1 galaxies.Comment: 24 pages, 13 figures, 3 tables. Accepted for publication in MNRAS. Typos corrected, DOI adde

Microencapsulated 3-Dimensional Sensor for the Measurement of Oxygen in Single Isolated Pancreatic Islets

Background: Oxygen consumption reflects multiple processes in pancreatic islets including mechanisms contributing to insulin secretion, oxidative stress and viability, providing an important readout in studies of islet function, islet viability and drug testing. Due to the scarcity, heterogeneity, and intrinsic kinetic properties of individual islets, it would be of great benefit to detect oxygen consumption by single islets. We present a novel method we have developed to image oxygen in single islets. Methodology/Principal Findings: Using a microfluidics system, individual islets and a fluorescent oxygen-sensitive dye were encased within a thin alginate polymer layer. Insulin secretion by the encapsulated islets was normal. Fluorescent signal from the encased dye, detected using a standard inverted fluorescence microscope and digital camera, was stable and proportional to the amount of oxygen in the media. When integrated into a perifusion system, the sensing system detected changes in response to metabolic substrates, mitochondrial poisons, and induced-oscillations. Glucose responses averaged 30.167.1 % of the response to a metabolic inhibitor (cyanide), increases were observed in all cases (n = 6), and the system was able to resolve changes in oxygen consumption that had a period greater than 0.5 minutes. The sensing system operated similarly from 2–48 hours following encapsulation, and viability and function of the islets were not significantly affected by the encapsulation process