bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
21. Damages for death and personal injuries
Authors: Horsey Kirsty , Rackley Erika
Published: August 2023

This chapter examines various issues in relation to damages in tort, beginning by looking at the principles that lie behind damages awards. The primary object of the law is to compensate those who have been harmed by another’s wrongdoing by making an award that seeks to put the claimant into the position that they would have been in had the harm not occurred. The chapter discusses the calculation and forms of damage payments, and special and general damages; independent, joint and several concurrent liabilities; time limitations on claims; the problem with damages; and debunking the compensation culture myth.
2. Contracts of employment (1): status, formation, continuity, and change
Authors: Smith Ian , Warnock Owen , Mitchell Gemma
Published: August 2023

This chapter discusses the way in which the law has had to keep up with changing models of ‘employment’. Even the old ‘employee/self-employed’ division is now complicated by increasing use in modern statutes of the term ‘worker’. Part-time, fixed-term, and agency workers have featured prominently in modern employment law and consideration is given to these specifically, along with even more topical areas of concern such as zero-hour contracts and the challenges of the ‘gig economy’ more generally. Three more technical areas are then considered. The first concerns the ‘section 1 statement’ of basic terms and conditions that has been an obligation on employers since 1963 but is still not always given. The second concerns the difficult question of the extent to which an employer can seek to impose limitations on an employee even after employment ends. The third concerns the whole question of how the terms of an employment contract can lawfully be changed by one or both of the parties to it.
10. Industrial action
Authors: Smith Ian , Warnock Owen , Mitchell Gemma
Published: August 2023

This chapter considers the law relating to strikes and other industrial action, including the important changes made by the Trade Union Act 2016. It deals with the historical development of common law and statute in this field to illuminate the current law. The relevance of the European Convention on Human Rights is considered. The tortious and criminal liabilities flowing from industrial action are considered, as well as the crucial immunity for tortious liability provided by the ‘golden formula’, including the exceptions to this immunity and the preconditions of complying with rules on balloting and notice of industrial action. Picketing is considered in relation to the many legal liabilities and the statutory immunity for some peaceful picketing. The granting of injunctions to stop industrial action is examined. The impact of industrial action on individual employees is considered in relation to their contractual rights and liabilities and the law of unfair dismissal.
3. Scope of the EU Treaty: Laws and Lawmaking
Authors: Costa Marios , Peers Steve
Published: August 2023

This chapter examines the lawmaking powers of the European Union (EU) in the context of its Treaties. It explains that the EU has the competence to make law of various types (including secondary legislation, soft law, delegated acts and implementing acts) in a broad range of areas and that the amendments to the lawmaking procedures have affected the institutional balance, giving an increased role to the European Parliament. It discusses the changes made to improve the level of democracy at EU level, to address concerns that EU lawmaking has a ‘democratic deficit’ and lacks transparency and proportionality. The chapter also considers the different aspects of EU competence, describes the lawmaking process and sources of EU law and also addresses questions concerning the determination of exclusive, shared and concurrent competence, particularly in the context of subsidiarity. Furthermore, it examines the rules on the EU adopting legislation without all Member States participating (closer cooperation).
12. Direct Action for Annulment
Authors: Costa Marios , Peers Steve
Published: August 2023

This chapter focuses on the Treaty provisions providing for judicial review of European Union (EU) law in Article 263 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). It explains the grounds for challenge and the consequences of a successful challenge to EU regulations. The chapter also highlights criticisms of Article 263 TFEU concerning restrictive tests for the admissibility of actions by individuals, and the restrictive attitude to the locus standi of trade associations and pressure groups. The implications of the case law after the Treaty of Lisbon, particularly regarding the term ‘regulatory act’, are explained. It considers the scope of indirect review under Article 277 TFEU. Finally, this chapter examines the provisions of Article 265 TFEU concerning action for failure to act. It discusses the notion of ‘reviewable omissions’, the scope of the EU institutions’ duty to act and the consequences of a successful action.
14. Introduction to the Internal Market
Authors: Costa Marios , Peers Steve
Published: August 2023

The creation of the internal market is one of the central purposes of the European Union (EU). This chapter examines the common themes that affect the four freedoms which constitute the internal market in the EU: the free movement of goods, of people and of capital; and the freedom to provide services. It analyses the relationship between these four freedoms and highlights the role of the Court of Justice (CJ) in defining the freedoms’ scope, particularly as regards the social aspect of these freedoms. The chapter also suggests that these freedoms have operated to limit Member States’ regulatory freedom in wide-ranging policy fields.
20. Economic Rights: Workers, Establishment and Services
Authors: Costa Marios , Peers Steve
Published: August 2023

This chapter examines the provisions of European Union (EU) law concerning economic rights provided by Articles 45, 49 and 56 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), concerning workers, establishment and services respectively. It discusses the Court of Justice’s (CJ) interpretation and its impact on Member States’ ability to regulate the right to trade within their own territory, as well as regulatory competition between Member States. The chapter discusses the harmonisation of qualifications (including the Qualifications Directive), the free movement of lawyers and the Services Directive. The chapter considers the dividing line between those services which are provided for remuneration and publicly funded services—these include education (including scholarships and grants) and healthcare (including in the context of the Patients’ Directive). It focuses on the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice (CJ) in which it has developed a number of mechanisms to extend rights for those who have moved to receive services.
Poole's Casebook on Contract Law
Authors: Merkin KC Robert , Saintier Séverine
Published: August 2023

Poole’s Casebook on Contract Law provides a comprehensive selection of case law that addresses all aspects of the subject encountered on undergraduate courses. Extracts have been chosen from a wide range of historical and contemporary cases to illustrate the reasoning processes of the courts and to show how legal principles are developed. The book begins with some guidance on reading cases, and then turns to agreement and agreement problems. Next, it looks at the enforceability of promises and intention to be legally bound and the capacity to contract. The content of the contract is examined. Exemption clauses and unfair contract terms are analysed in detail. The book then considers initial impossibility, misrepresentation, duress, undue influence, and illegality. The book ends by discussing issues relating to breach of contract and remedies, and excuses for non-performance.
15. Remedies providing for specific relief and restitutionary remedies
Authors: Merkin KC Robert , Saintier Séverine , Poole Jill
Published: August 2023

Poole’s Casebook on Contract Law provides a comprehensive selection of case law that addresses all aspects of the subject encountered on undergraduate courses. This chapter deals with remedies providing for specific relief and so-called ‘restitutionary’ remedies. It first considers debt claims (agreed sums), before turning to specific performance and injunctions. It concludes by discussing restitution—recovery where there has been a total failure of consideration, and recovery on a quantum meruit (as where a contract fails to materialize)—following the Supreme Court decision of Morris-Garner and another v One Step (Support Ltd) and its impact on Wrotham Park damages and the availability and nature of the account of profits in Attorney General v Blake.
14. Damages for breach of contract
Authors: Merkin KC Robert , Saintier Séverine , Poole Jill
Published: August 2023

Course-focused and comprehensive, Poole’s Textbook on Contract Law provides an accessible overview of the key areas of the law curriculum. Where there is breach of contract, the aggrieved party is entitled to the remedy of damages as of right. Contractual damages aim to compensate the claimant for losses suffered rather than punish the defendant. To achieve compensation the claimant is put in the position he would have been in if the contract had been properly performed and the breach had not occurred. In other words, the aim is to protect the expectation of performance (known as the ‘expectation interest’ or the ‘performance interest’). This may involve any difference in value between the promised and the actual performance, loss of profits, or reimbursing the claimant for any expenditure that had been wasted due to the breach. A claimant may not be fully compensated for his losses as a result of the remoteness rule, which limits recovery of losses and/or the duty to mitigate (minimize) loss. Damages may also be apportioned, in some circumstances, for the claimant’s own contributory negligence in contributing to his own loss. In general, non-pecuniary losses are not recoverable in a claim for breach of contract, but there are cases where a modest sum may be awarded for the disappointment resulting from not receiving the promised performance. The parties may include an agreed damages clause in their contract but in the event of breach only a liquidated damages clause will be enforceable; a penalty clause will not be enforceable beyond the claimant’s actual loss.
5. Direct Effect
Authors: Schütze Robert
Published: August 2023

This chapter focuses on the direct effect of European law in the national legal orders. The European Union insists on a monistic relationship between European and national law. This, in particular, means that the EU will itself determine the effect of its law in the national legal orders. The chapter then focuses on the direct effect of the EU Treaties. The European Treaties are, however, mainly framework treaties; that is, they primarily envisage the adoption of European secondary law and especially EU legislation. This secondary law may take various forms, which are set out in Article 288 TFEU. The provision acknowledges three binding legal instruments—regulations, directives, and decisions. Much of the constitutional discussion on the direct effect of European secondary law has consequently concentrated on the direct effect of directives, which will be discussed in detail. Finally, the chapter also analyses the doctrine of indirect effect within the EU legal order.
7. National Actions
Authors: Schütze Robert
Published: August 2023

This chapter addresses the indirect enforcement of European law through the national courts. The core duty governing the decentralized enforcement of European law by national courts is rooted in Article 4(3) TEU: the duty of ‘sincere cooperation’. The chapter explores two specific constitutional principles that the European Court has derived from the general duty of sincere cooperation: the principle of equivalence and the principle of effectiveness. Both principles have led to a significant judicial harmonization of national procedural laws. The chapter then considers the State liability principle, and looks at the procedural bridge that exists between national courts and the European Court of Justice. For from the very beginning, the European Treaties contained a mechanism for the interpretative assistance of national courts: the preliminary reference procedure.
Information Technology Law
Authors: Murray Andrew
Published: August 2023

Information Technology Law: The Law and Society is the ideal companion for a course of study on information technology law and the ways in which it is evolving in response to rapid technological and social change. The fifth edition of this ground-breaking textbook develops its unique examination of the legal processes and their relationship to the modern ‘information society’. Charting the development of the rapid digitization of society and its impact on established legal principles, Murray examines the challenges faced with enthusiasm and clarity. Following a clearly-defined part structure, the text begins by defining the information society and discussing how it may be regulated, before moving on to explore issues of internet governance, privacy and surveillance, intellectual property and rights, and commerce within the digital sphere. The author’s highly original and thought-provoking approach to the subject also makes it essential reading for researchers, IT professionals, and policy-makers. This fifth edition includes expanded coverage of AI authorship and computer generated works, cryptocurrency, cryptoassets and blockchain technology as well as being significantly expanded to cover developments in defamation law, net neutrality, data protection, and smart contracting.
6. Social networking and antisocial conduct
Authors: Murray Andrew
Published: August 2023

This chapter examines antisocial conduct in social media platforms (SMPs) such as Facebook and Twitter, and how it has spawned cases of defamation, blasphemy, and incitement to violence. It first considers how social networking breeds gossip and speculation leading to invasion of privacy, citing the Ryan Giggs case in 2011 and its legal implications of postings on SMPs and comparing this with the later approach of the Supreme Court in the PJS case. The chapter looks at use of SMPs to make criminal threats and organize criminal activity, focusing on the Paul Chambers case and subsequent cases including R (Miller) v College of Policing. It then analyses cyberbullying, trolling, and harassment on SMPs and concludes by looking at plans to amend the communications offences.
4. Local and Devolved Government
Authors: Wade Sir William , Forsyth Christopher , Ghosh Julian
Published: August 2023

This chapter begins with a discussion of various aspects of local government including its historical development, principal functions, operations and proceedings, revenues, audit system and central influence and control. It then describes the legal status and responsibilities of the police force and self-government in Scotland and Wales.
7. Personal rights and freedoms
Authors: Wade Sir William , Forsyth Christopher , Ghosh Julian
Published: August 2023

This chapter considers the rights and freedoms provided by the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR), and the Human Rights Act 1998.
16. Prerogative Remedies
Authors: Wade Sir William , Forsyth Christopher , Ghosh Julian
Published: August 2023

This chapter focuses on prerogative remedies. It first discusses the remedies of habeas corpus (together with its human rights counterpart), certiorari (the quashing order) and prohibition (the prohibiting order). These are grouped together since they are all remedies for the control of powers. Mandamus (the mandatory order) then follows, being the primary remedy for enforcing public duties.
20. Liability of Public Authorities
Authors: Wade Sir William , Forsyth Christopher , Ghosh Julian
Published: August 2023

This chapter discusses the liability of public authorities. Topics covered include categories of liability; liability for breach of human rights; liability for the tort of negligence; strict liability; breach of statutory duty; misfeasance in public office; statement of general principles of liability; immunities and time limits for actions in tort; liability in contract; liability to make restitution; and liability to pay compensation where there has been no tort or breach of contract.
2. Admissibility of Applications
Authors: Harris David , O’boyle Michael , Bates Ed , Buckley Carla M. , Kamber KreŠimir , Bryanston-Cross ZoË , Cumper Peter , Green Heather
Published: August 2023

This chapter focuses on admissibility requirements. It discusses the general approach to admissibility; the application of admissibility requirements to individual and inter-state cases; the exhaustion of domestic remedies; the four-month rule; other grounds of inadmissibility; and the competence of the Court.
14. Article 11: Freedom of Assembly and Association
Authors: Harris David , O’boyle Michael , Bates Ed , Buckley Carla M. , Kamber KreŠimir , Bryanston-Cross ZoË , Cumper Peter , Green Heather
Published: August 2023

This chapter discusses Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarantees the two connected rights of freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of association. The latter includes the freedom to form and join trade unions. Both rights are essential to the effective working of democracy. Article 11 imposes negative obligations on states not to interfere with these rights unless the interference is prescribed by national law and is necessary in a democratic society to achieve at least one of the aims specified in the article. Restrictions on striking by the armed forces, police, and administration of the state are permitted under Article 11(2). Positive obligations on states to take reasonable measures to protect the two freedoms have been read into Article 11, including to undertake effective investigations into complaints of interference by private persons. States have a positive obligation to secure the rights of individuals and trade unions against employers and to protect the individual against union power.
20. Article 1, First Protocol: The Right to Property
Authors: Harris David , O’boyle Michael , Bates Ed , Buckley Carla M. , Kamber KreŠimir , Bryanston-Cross ZoË , Cumper Peter , Green Heather
Published: August 2023

This chapter discusses Article 1 of the First Protocol, which guarantees the right to property. Recognition of a pecuniary right in national law or practice will give rise to a ‘possession’ under the Convention. Article 1 imposes upon states positive obligations to protect property, and negative obligations not to interfere with the right to property without justification. It permits two types of interference: (i) deprivation of property where it is in the public interest and in accordance with national law and the general principles of international law; and (ii) control of use of property where it accords with national law and is in the general interest or to secure the payment of taxes or other contributions. Where interference does not fall within one of these categories, it is regulated under the first sentence of Article 1. The standard in all cases requires a ‘fair balance’ be struck between the public interest and the burden of the interference on the person.
12. Parties to crime
Authors: Ormerod David , Child John
Published: August 2023

This chapter examines the criminal liability of parties to a crime. Where D involves herself in the crime of another, and that crime is completed, D may not just be liable for her inchoate role, but may be additionally liable as an accomplice. As such, she is labelled and punished in the same way as the principal. This chapter begins with an overview of the current law of complicity and the circumstances where uncertainty can emerge in determining whether D is a principal or an accomplice. It then considers the elements of complicity by aiding, abetting, counselling, or procuring; the abolition of complicity by joint enterprise; the relationship between complicity and inchoate liability; and available defences. It outlines options for legal reform concerning complicity and the potential application of complicity within a problem question. Relevant cases are highlighted throughout the chapter, with brief summaries of the main facts and judgments.
1. Overview
Authors: French Derek
Published: August 2023

This chapter provides an overview of the work’s contents. It introduces the basic ideas of company law. A company is an artificial legal person capable of owning property, being a party to contracts and being a claimant or defendant in legal proceedings. A company is created by registration at Companies House under the Companies Act 2006. A company is both an association of members (shareholders) and a person separate from its members. Members are not liable for the company’s debts. Members are only liable to make an agreed capital contribution in return for their shares. Members appoint directors to manage the company’s business and represent the company. Every company must have articles of association which set out the company’s constitution.
8. Share transfer
Authors: French Derek
Published: August 2023

This chapter discusses an essential feature of registered companies: that their shares are transferable. The discussion covers some of the procedures to be followed when transferring some or all of a company member’s shares to another person, for sales on and off the London Stock Exchange, transfers of all or a part of a member’s holding and transfers of certificated and uncertificated shares. After describing share certificates and uncertificated shares, the chapter considers the problem of who should bear the loss when a transfer of shares is forged or fraudulent. It also explores transmission of shares on death or bankruptcy.
13. Corporate governance
Authors: French Derek
Published: August 2023

This chapter surveys corporate governance. It identifies the key problem of the separation of ownership and control in companies that are not owner-managed. Shareholders are seen as the owners of the company but directors manage the company and can do so for their own benefit rather than the shareholders’. There is a list of the numerous legal controls on directors, which are studied in other chapters. There is discussion of two ways of looking at directors, either as stewards who must account for their actions to the owners or as entrepreneurs whose wealth-creating work deserves reward. The UK Corporate Governance Code, which applies to premium listed companies, is discussed, as are shareholder activism and investor stewardship.
18. Remedies for maladministration
Authors: French Derek
Published: August 2023

This chapter considers the remedies available when maladministration occurs, with emphasis on the existence of the company as a separate person. It examines circumstances where a wrong has been done to the company or to individual members, focusing on the proper claimant principle established in Foss v Harbottle (1843) 2 Hare 461, and the possible action that can be taken against company officers who have committed a wrong. It also explains the causes for which a member can file derivative claims; the right of a member to petition the court for relief under the Companies Act 2006 (CA 2006), part 30 (ss 994 to 999); members’ petition for winding up; the irregularity principle; and when the Secretary of State can intervene in maladministration cases. The chapter cites relevant legislation (Companies Act 1985, Insolvency Act 1986 and CA 2006) and a number of particularly significant court cases.
19. Acting for a company: agency and attribution
Authors: French Derek
Published: August 2023

This chapter deals with the legal relationship of agency that exists between the company and the agent, explaining the process involved in an agent’s authentication and the execution of documents for the company they represent. It considers two ways in which a company may become contractually bound to another person (a ‘contractor’) under the provisions of the Companies Act 2006: through a written contract to which the company’s common seal is affixed, or when someone has made a contract on behalf of the company. It also discusses the company’s capacity to enter into contracts, including the ultra vires rule, and attribution by a court so as to impose criminal liability on a company. A number of court cases relevant to the discussion are cited.
1. Business structures
Authors: Roach Lee
Published: August 2023

This chapter discusses the four principal business structures in the UK, namely the sole proprietorship, ordinary partnership, limited liability partnership (LLP), and company. The LLP and the company are created via a process called incorporation and are therefore known as incorporated business structures or, as they are referred to in their respective statutes, ‘bodies corporate’. The sole proprietorship and the ordinary partnership are not created via incorporation and so are known as unincorporated business structures.
6. Corporate governance
Authors: Roach Lee
Published: August 2023

This chapter discusses the UK corporate governance system and some of the key corporate governance topics. It begins by looking at what corporate governance is and how the UK’s corporate governance system has evolved. The chapter then discusses the effectiveness of the ‘comply or explain’ approach. It also discusses a number of key corporate governance mechanisms, namely institutional investors, non-executive directors, and directors’ remuneration.
The English Legal System
Authors: Gillespie Alisdair , Weare Siobhan
Published: August 2023

The English Legal System presents the main areas of the legal system and encourages a critique of the wider aspects of how law is made and reformed. The book is structured in five parts. Part I looks at the sources of law including domestic and international sources. Part II looks at the courts and the practitioners. It considers the structure of the courts and tribunals, judges and judicial independence, the legal professions, and legal aid. Part III examines the criminal justice system. It describes issues related to lay justice, trials, and criminal appeals. The next part is about the civil justice system. It looks at civil litigation, remedies, appeals and alternative dispute resolution, as well as the funding of civil litigation. The final part looks to the future.
3. Domestic Sources of Law: Case Law
Authors: Gillespie Alisdair , Weare Siobhan
Published: August 2023

This chapter continues the discussion of sources of domestic law, focusing on material produced by the courts through cases. It covers the reporting of cases, the hierarchy of courts, legal principles, and the operation of precedent. The courts operate a system of precedent known as stare decisis (‘let the decision stand’). The type of precedent set depends on the court sitting, with the most complicated rules occurring in the Court of Appeal. As a general rule of thumb, the court setting the precedent will bind every court below it but the real question is under what circumstances that court is bound by itself.
14. Those in Court
Authors: Gillespie Alisdair , Weare Siobhan
Published: August 2023

This chapter focuses on the people who are present during criminal trials. It considers those in summary trials in magistrates’ court (magistrates, justices’ clerks/legal advisors, lawyers, and the defendant). It also considers those who are present in the Crown Court during a trial on indictment (the judge, the jury, lawyers, court clerks, the stenographer, the usher, and the defendant). The chapter then explores how lawyers for the defence are funded under the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.
18. Remedies and Appeals
Authors: Gillespie Alisdair , Weare Siobhan
Published: August 2023

This chapter discusses the remedies that can be sought from the civil courts and how an appeal is made against a decision. It covers interim and final remedies; route of appeals; leave; the hearing; appeals to the Supreme Court; and examples of appeals. There are many different types of remedies that a court can award to a successful litigant. The most common form of remedy is that which is known as ‘damages’. Appeals in the civil courts follow a slightly more complicated structure than in criminal cases. In order to appeal in the civil cases, it is usually necessary to seek permission before proceeding with a civil appeal. Save where it is a final decision in a multi-track case, the usual rule is that the appeal will be heard by the next most senior judge.
A constitutive serine protease inhibitor suppresses herbivore performance in tea (Camellia sinensis)
Authors: Ye Meng , Liu Chuande , Li Nana , Yuan Chenhong , Liu Miaomiao , Xin Zhaojun , Lei Shu , Sun Xiaoling
Published: August 2023

Protease inhibitors promote herbivore resistance in diverse plant species. Although many inducible protease inhibitors have been identified, there are limited reports available on the biological relevance and molecular basis of constitutive protease inhibitors in herbivore resistance. Here, we identified a serine protease inhibitor, CsSERPIN1, from the tea plant (Camellia sinensis). Expression of CsSERPIN1 was not strongly affected by the assessed biotic and abiotic stresses. In vitro and in vivo experiments showed that CsSERPIN1 strongly inhibited the activities of digestive protease activities of trypsin and chymotrypsin. Transient or heterologous expression of CsSERPIN1 significantly reduced herbivory by two destructive herbivores, the tea geometrid and fall armyworm, in tea and Arabidopsis plants, respectively. The expression of CsSERPIN1 in Arabidopsis did not negatively influence the growth of the plants under the measured parameters. Our findings suggest that CsSERPIN1 can inactivate gut digestive proteases and suppress the growth and development of herbivores, making it a promising candidate for pest prevention in agriculture.
Developing Antiracist Social Work Practice at a Comprehensive Cancer Center
Authors: Mathew Linda , Stewart Melissa , Damaskos Penny , Sinha Kasey , Cammarata Meredith , Brown Chantelle , Davis Margery , Abraham Kaba Annamma
Published: August 2023

The combination of the ongoing violence perpetuated against Black, Brown, and Asian people, and the increased incidence of death of Black, Indigenous, people of color (BIPOC) and Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, elicited an important response from the field of social work across the nation. This article describes the efforts undertaken by a Social Work Department at a comprehensive cancer center in response to a call to develop antiracist practice. This article recounts the process of creating educational opportunities for oncology social workers to help them identify bias and racism in themselves and throughout the healthcare system, to embrace intentional antiracist practice, and to better advocate for BIPOC/AAPI patients and colleagues. The strategies included the development of an antiracism committee, the use of a social location exercise to influence and disrupt white supremacy, the creation of community guidelines for engaging in conversations about race, and the formulation of a new departmental policy ensuring a commitment to antiracist social work practice. In addition, a forum using multimedia was created to explore racial dynamics and to highlight the narratives of BIPOC and AAPI people. Further, a monthly Antiracist Clinical Case Conference was implemented to explore their role in the context of working with the interdisciplinary team in an oncology setting. This article concludes with recommendations for ongoing antiracist social work practice development that may be applied in various healthcare settings.
Rumen and cecum bacteria of beef cattle that differ in feed efficiency fed a forage diet
Authors: Freetly Harvey C , Lindholm-Perry Amanda K
Published: August 2023

Most of the research addressing feed efficiency and the microbiota has been conducted in cattle fed grain diets, although cattle evolved to consume forage diets. Our hypothesis was that the bacteria in the rumen and cecum differed in cattle that have a common feed intake but had different ^average daily body weight gains (ADG) on a forage diet. Heifers (n = 134) were 606 ± 1 d of age and weighed 476 ± 3 kg at the start of the 84-d feeding study. Heifers were offered ad libitum access to a totally mixed ration that consisted of 86% ground brome hay, 10% wet distillers grains with solubles, and 4% mineral supplement as dry matter. Feed intake and body weight gain were measured, and gain was calculated. Heifers with the least (n = 8) and greatest (n = 8) ADG within 0.32 SD of the mean daily dry matter intake were selected for sampling. Digesta samples from the rumen and cecum were collected, and subsequent 16S analysis was conducted to identify Amplicon Sequence Variants. There were no differences in Alpha and Beta diversity between ADG classification within sample sites (P > 0.05). Both sample sites contained calculated balances of sister clades using phylogenetic isometric log ratio transferred data that differed across ADG classification. These findings suggest that bacteria did not differ at the community level, but there was structural difference at the clade level.
Methods for the Future, Futures for Methods: Collaborating with Syrian Refugee Youth in Jordan
Authors: Holst Birgitte Stampe , Bandak Andreas , Hastrup Anders , al-Dilaijim Tareq
Published: August 2023

What happens with data when the research process radically involves and engages those who are in the target group? How can we move towards collaborative insights by integrating our participants in the design of research, conduct of work, and, ultimately, its writing and dissemination? And how does this enable us to devise better futures when imagining such futures may be the very problem? Based on experimental research methods with Syrian refugee youth in Jordan, this article discusses how novel ways of engaging target groups in research can help push analyses in new directions. Collaborative methods, we argue, allow for 3 general analytical displacements that may help us work through the protracted nature of much humanitarian intervention and aid work: namely, moves from worldmaking to waymaking, from urgency to discernment, and from the biological to the biographical.
CAViaR models for Value-at-Risk and Expected Shortfall with long range dependency features
Authors: Mitrodima Gelly , Oberoi Jaideep
Published: August 2023

We consider alternative specifications of conditional autoregressive quantile models to estimate Value-at-Risk and Expected Shortfall. The proposed specifications include a slow moving component in the quantile process, along with aggregate returns from heterogeneous horizons as regressors. Using data for 10 stock indices, we evaluate the performance of the models and find that the proposed features are useful in capturing tail dynamics better.
Hibernomas: a rare benign lipoma subtype
Authors: Wei Runze , Chen Zhaolei
Published: August 2023

Hibernoma is a benign soft tissue tumor; it is extremely low in incidence, slow-growing and painless and is often mistaken for lipoma or liposarcoma. Diagnosis requires imaging and pathological analysis. Complete resection is the treatment of choice. We analyzed a case of lipoma from imaging and pathology perspectives and reviewed the relevant literature.
An Unusual Presentation of SCAD in a Young Male Soldier
Authors: Lee Oliver , Sun Kelly , Goldstein Elianna , Jang James , Berenberg Jeffrey
Published: August 2023

Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) is a non-atherosclerotic cause of myocardial infarction and sudden cardiac death in young individuals without significant cardiovascular risk factors. The etiology of SCAD appears to be multifactorial and is often precipitated by physical and emotional stress superimposed on underlying arteriopathy, connective tissue disorders, systemic inflammatory disorders, genetic factors, and hormonal influences. There are no current societal guidelines to stratify young soldiers’ risk of developing SCAD. Diagnosis typically requires invasive coronary artery angiography which is largely unavailable in stations with limited medical resources. Furthermore, young patients with SCAD often present with atypical cardiac symptoms, such as heartburn leading to the misdiagnosis of gastroesophageal reflux disease and a delay in diagnosis and management. We present a 21-year-old active duty male who was transferred from Okinawa, Japan to a tertiary military medical center for evaluation of hypercoagulable conditions after CT revealed non-obstructing portal venous thrombosis extending to right hepatic vein, splenic vein thrombosis with splenic infarct, and bilateral wedge-shaped renal infarct. Extensive work-up ultimately revealed mid-left anterior descending spiral dissection with transmural infarct of inferior, anteroseptal, and inferoseptal wall resulting in the formation of left ventricular thrombus, subsequently causing thromboembolism to multiple organs. This case demonstrates the ramifications of SCAD when diagnosis and management are delayed and serve as a poignant reminder for all providers to include SCAD in the differential diagnosis for young soldiers with atypical chest pain.
LinearCoFold and LinearCoPartition: linear-time algorithms for secondary structure prediction of interacting RNA molecules
Authors: Zhang He , Li Sizhen , Dai Ning , Zhang Liang , Mathews David H , Huang Liang
Published: August 2023

Many RNAs function through RNA–RNA interactions. Fast and reliable RNA structure prediction with consideration of RNA–RNA interaction is useful, however, existing tools are either too simplistic or too slow. To address this issue, we present LinearCoFold, which approximates the complete minimum free energy structure of two strands in linear time, and LinearCoPartition, which approximates the cofolding partition function and base pairing probabilities in linear time. LinearCoFold and LinearCoPartition are orders of magnitude faster than RNAcofold. For example, on a sequence pair with combined length of 26,190 nt, LinearCoFold is 86.8× faster than RNAcofold MFE mode, and LinearCoPartition is 642.3× faster than RNAcofold partition function mode. Surprisingly, LinearCoFold and LinearCoPartition’s predictions have higher PPV and sensitivity of intermolecular base pairs. Furthermore, we apply LinearCoFold to predict the RNA–RNA interaction between SARS-CoV-2 genomic RNA (gRNA) and human U4 small nuclear RNA (snRNA), which has been experimentally studied, and observe that LinearCoFold’s prediction correlates better with the wet lab results than RNAcofold’s.
DNA mimic foldamers affect chromatin composition and disturb cell cycle progression
Authors: Kleene Vera , Corvaglia Valentina , Chacin Erika , Forne Ignasi , Konrad David B , Khosravani Pardis , Douat Céline , Kurat Christoph F , Huc Ivan , Imhof Axel
Published: August 2023

The use of synthetic chemicals to selectively interfere with chromatin and the chromatin-bound proteome represents a great opportunity for pharmacological intervention. Recently, synthetic foldamers that mimic the charge surface of double-stranded DNA have been shown to interfere with selected protein–DNA interactions. However, to better understand their pharmacological potential and to improve their specificity and selectivity, the effect of these molecules on complex chromatin needs to be investigated. We therefore systematically studied the influence of the DNA mimic foldamers on the chromatin-bound proteome using an in vitro chromatin assembly extract. Our studies show that the foldamer efficiently interferes with the chromatin-association of the origin recognition complex in vitro and in vivo, which leads to a disturbance of cell cycle in cells treated with foldamers. This effect is mediated by a strong direct interaction between the foldamers and the origin recognition complex and results in a failure of the complex to organise chromatin around replication origins. Foldamers that mimic double-stranded nucleic acids thus emerge as a powerful tool with designable features to alter chromatin assembly and selectively interfere with biological mechanisms.
HMDD v4.0: a database for experimentally supported human microRNA-disease associations
Authors: Cui Chunmei , Zhong Bitao , Fan Rui , Cui Qinghua
Published: August 2023

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of important small non-coding RNAs with critical molecular functions in almost all biological processes, and thus, they play important roles in disease diagnosis and therapy. Human MicroRNA Disease Database (HMDD) represents an important and comprehensive resource for biomedical researchers in miRNA-related medicine. Here, we introduce HMDD v4.0, which curates 53530 miRNA-disease association entries from literatures. In comparison to HMDD v3.0 released five years ago, HMDD v4.0 contains 1.5 times more entries. In addition, some new categories have been curated, including exosomal miRNAs implicated in diseases, virus-encoded miRNAs involved in human diseases, and entries containing miRNA-circRNA interactions. We also curated sex-biased miRNAs in diseases. Furthermore, in a case study, disease similarity analysis successfully revealed that sex-biased miRNAs related to developmental anomalies are associated with a number of human diseases with sex bias. HMDD can be freely visited at http://www.cuilab.cn/hmdd.
Different modification pathways for m1A58 incorporation in yeast elongator and initiator tRNAs
Authors: Yared Marcel-Joseph , Yoluç Yasemin , Catala Marjorie , Tisné Carine , Kaiser Stefanie , Barraud Pierre
Published: August 2023

As essential components of the protein synthesis machinery, tRNAs undergo a tightly controlled biogenesis process, which include the incorporation of numerous posttranscriptional modifications. Defects in these tRNA maturation steps may lead to the degradation of hypomodified tRNAs by the rapid tRNA decay (RTD) and nuclear surveillance pathways. We previously identified m1A58 as a late modification introduced after modifications Ψ55 and T54 in yeast elongator tRNAPhe. However, previous reports suggested that m1A58 is introduced early during the tRNA modification process, in particular on primary transcripts of initiator tRNAiMet, which prevents its degradation by RNA decay pathways. Here, aiming to reconcile this apparent inconsistency on the temporality of m1A58 incorporation, we examined its introduction into yeast elongator and initiator tRNAs. We used specifically modified tRNAs to report on the molecular aspects controlling the Ψ55 → T54 → m1A58 modification circuit in elongator tRNAs. We also show that m1A58 is efficiently introduced on unmodified tRNAiMet, and does not depend on prior modifications. Finally, we show that m1A58 has major effects on the structural properties of initiator tRNAiMet, so that the tRNA elbow structure is only properly assembled when this modification is present. This observation provides a structural explanation for the degradation of hypomodified tRNAiMet lacking m1A58 by the nuclear surveillance and RTD pathways.
Health-related quality of life of pediatric brain tumor survivors after treatment in Jordan
Authors: Choi Han , Soliman Amr S , Al Mousa Randa , Yeh Jennifer , Khader Jamal , Sultan Iyad , Ibrahimi Ahmad Kh
Published: August 2023

Background

The number of cancer survivors and survivorship are increasing. Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) has not been widely studied in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs). The aim of this study is to explore HRQOL of childhood brain tumor survivors and its determinants in Jordan.

Methods

Health-related quality of life information was collected from 80 patients treated at the King Hussein Cancer Center and their parents using the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) Generic Core Scales questionnaire in Arabic. Multivariable linear OLS regression models were used to analyze correlates of HRQOL and compare differences between child- and parent-reported responses.

Results

Health-related quality of life scores reported by survivors and by parents were positively correlated on all subscales and total PedsQL scores (r = 0.59, P = .001). Survivors reported better HRQOL in cognitive subscale (β = 0.56, P = .03) and worse HRQOL in work subscale (β = 0.43, P = .04), but no significant differences in the physical, emotional, and social subscales and total PedsQL scores. Significant predictors of HRQOL reported by parents and by children were different. Supratentorial tumor location was associated with a 10.97-unit lower physical HRQOL score, and recurrence of tumors predicted a 17.5-unit lower total HRQOL score, indicating worse quality of life. Male gender (β = 14.9, P = .002) and diagnosis of hypopituitarism (β = 16.1, P = .03) were associated with better HRQOL. Furthermore, patients that only had radiotherapy treatment had better emotional HRQOL (β = 32.9, P = .006) compared to patients that had combined radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

Conclusion

This study provides evidence on determinants of HRQOL of pediatric brain tumor patients in Jordan. Future studies need to capitalize on the findings of this study to institute a system for regular assessment of quality of life of pediatric cancer patients in Jordan and other countries with similar health care systems and sociocultural backgrounds.
Ventriculoperitoneal shunting with an on–off valve for patients with leptomeningeal metastases and intracranial hypertension
Authors: Huntoon Kristin M , Gasco Jaime , Glitza Oliva Isabella C , Ferguson Sherise D , Majd Nazarin K , McCutcheon Ian E
Published: August 2023

Background

We report our experience with using a ventriculoperitoneal shunt (VPS) with an on–off valve and in-line Ommaya reservoir for the treatment of hydrocephalus or intracranial hypertension in patients with leptomeningeal disease (LMD). Our goal was to determine whether control of intracranial pressure elevation combined with intrathecal (IT) chemotherapy would extend patient survival.

Methods

In this IRB-approved retrospective study, we reviewed 58 cases of adult patients with LMD from solid cancers who received a VPS with a reservoir and an on–off valve at M D Anderson Cancer Center from November 1996 through December 2021. Primary tumors were most often melanoma (n = 19) or breast carcinoma (n = 20). Hydrocephalus was diagnosed by clinical symptoms and findings on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and LMD by MRI or cerebrospinal fluid analysis. Differences in overall survival (OS) were assessed with standard statistical techniques.

Results

Patients who received a VPS and more than 3 IT chemotherapy sessions survived longer (n = 26; OS time from implantation 11.7 ± 3.6 months) than those who received an occludable shunt but no IT chemotherapy (n = 24; OS time from implantation 2.8 ± 0.7 months, P < .018). Peritoneal seeding appeared after shunt insertion in only two patients (3%).

Conclusions

This is the largest series reported to date of patients with LMD who had had shunts with on–off valves placed to relieve symptoms of intracranial hypertension. Use of IT chemotherapy and control of hydrocephalus via such shunts was associated with improved survival.