bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Competition policy and economics
Authors: Whish Richard , Bailey David
Published: September 2021

This chapter provides an overview of competition law and its economic context. Section 2 describes the practices that competition laws attempt to control in order to protect the competition process. Section 3 examines the theory of competition and gives an introductory account of why the effective enforcement of competition law is thought to be beneficial. Section 4 considers the goals of competition law. Section 5 introduces two key economic concepts, market definition and market power, that are important to a better understanding of competition policy. The chapter concludes with a table of market share figures that are significant in the application of EU and UK competition law, while reminding the reader that market shares are only ever a proxy for market power and can never be determinative of market power in themselves.
Overview of EU and UK competition law
Authors: Whish Richard , Bailey David
Published: September 2021

This chapter provides a brief overview of EU and UK competition law and the institutions involved in formulating, interpreting and applying competition law in those jurisdictions. It also explains the relationship between EU competition law and the domestic competition laws of the Member States, in particular in the light of Article 3 of Regulation 1/2003. The rules of the European Economic Area are briefly referred to, and the trend on the part of Member States to adopt domestic competition rules modelled on those in the EU is also noted. Three diagrams at the end of the chapter explain the institutional structure of EU and UK competition law.
Article 102
Authors: Whish Richard , Bailey David
Published: September 2021

This chapter discusses the main features of Article 102 of the Treaty of Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), which is concerned with the abusive conduct of dominant firms. It begins by discussing the meaning of ‘undertaking’ and ‘effect on trade between Member States’ in the context of Article 102. It then considers what is meant by a dominant position and looks at the requirement that any dominant position must be held in a substantial part of the internal market. Thereafter it discusses some general considerations relevant to the concept of abuse of dominance, followed by an explanation of what is meant by ‘exploitative’, ‘exclusionary’ and ‘single market’ abuses. It then discusses possible defences to allegations of abuse, and concludes by considering the consequences of infringing Article 102.
The international dimension of competition law
Authors: Whish Richard , Bailey David
Published: September 2021

This chapter explores the international dimension of competition law from two perspectives. It begins by describing the growth of international institutions involved in the development of competition law and policy, with particular reference to the International Competition Network (the ‘ICN’), the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (the ‘OECD’) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (‘UNCTAD’). It then looks at a more technical issue, which is the extent to which a sovereign state (or the European Union) can apply its competition law extraterritorially to conduct beyond its borders that has a harmful effect within it: this will briefly be considered from a theoretical perspective, after which the positions in the US, EU and UK will be examined in turn. The chapter concludes by briefly examining the extent to which a state may wish to block the application of a foreign competition law to its businesses.
Mergers (3): UK
Authors: Whish Richard , Bailey David
Published: September 2021

This chapter discusses UK law on the control of mergers. The chapter is organized as follows. Section 2 provides an overview of the domestic system of merger control. Section 3 explains the procedure of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) when determining whether a merger should be referred for an in-depth ‘Phase 2’ investigation and when deciding to accept ‘undertakings in lieu’ of a reference. Section 4 describes how Phase 2 investigations are conducted and Section 5 discusses the ‘substantially lessening competition’ (‘SLC’) test. Section 6 explains the enforcement powers in the Enterprise Act 2002, including the remedies that the CMA can impose in merger cases. The subsequent sections discuss various supplementary matters, such as powers of investigation and enforcement. The chapter concludes with a discussion of how the merger control provisions work in practice and a brief account of the provisions on public interest cases, other special cases and mergers in the water industry. The withdrawal by the UK from the EU means that many mergers that were subject to a ‘one-stop shop’ under EU law are now subject to investigation in the UK as well.
Particular sectors
Authors: Whish Richard , Bailey David
Published: September 2021

This chapter deals with four issues. First it will briefly examine three sectors of the economy that are wholly or partly excluded from EU competition law, namely nuclear energy, military equipment and agriculture; the special regime that once existed for coal and steel products under the former European Coal and Steel Community (‘the ECSC’) Treaty is also mentioned in passing. Secondly, it will explain the application of the EU competition rules apply to the transport sector. Thirdly, the chapter will consider the specific circumstances of four so-called ‘regulated industries’, electronic communications, post, energy and water, where a combination of legislation, regulation and competition law seek to promote competition. Last, but by no means least, the current debate concerning digital platforms is discussed where it is likely that ex ante regulatory rules will be introduced, both in the EU and the UK, to address concerns about anti-competitive conduct and a tendency towards the monopolisation of markets.
2. Law and society: the purposes and functions of law
Authors: Partington Martin
Published: September 2021

This chapter discusses the social functions of law at both the macro and micro levels. The macro functions of law cover the relationship between law and different orders: public order, political order, social order, economic order, international order, and moral order. They also include the resolution of social problems, the regulation of human relationships, and the educative or ideological function of law. The micro functions of law include: defining the limits of acceptable behaviour, the consequences of certain forms of behaviour, and processes for the transaction of business and other activities, as well as creating regulatory frameworks, giving authority to agents of the state to take actions against citizens, preventing the abuse of power by officials, giving power/authority to officials to assist the public, and prescribing procedures for the use of law.
4. The Royal Prerogative
Authors: Loveland Ian
Published: September 2021

This chapter considers the evolving constitutional status of the royal prerogative in the courts during the twentieth century. The discussions cover the relationship between statute, the prerogative, and the rule of law; the traditional perspective on judicial review of prerogative powers and the rejection of that traditional perspective in the House of Lords’ judgment in Council of Civil Service Unions v Minister for the Civil Service (GCHQ). The chapter continues by analysing the ways in which the new organising principle of ‘justiciability’ which emerged in the GCHQ judgment in the 1980s has since been applied in several leading cases, and suggests that in recent years the courts have adopted an increasingly rigorous approach to the supervision of governmental actions claimed to be taken under prerogative powers.
7. The Electoral System
Authors: Loveland Ian
Published: September 2021

A country’s electoral systems are perhaps the most significant mechanism within its constitutional order to ensure that the country’s laws and governmental system attract what Jefferson termed ‘the consent of the governed’. A recent survey of electoral laws in modern democratic societies identified six fundamental characteristics of democratic electoral systems: (i) that virtually all adults may vote; (ii) that elections are held regularly; (iii) that no large group of citizens is prohibited from fielding candidates; (iv) that all legislative seats are contested; (v) that election campaigns are conducted fairly; and (vi) that votes are secretly cast and accurately counted. This chapter examines how well Britain’s electoral system satisfies these tests, first tracing the evolution of the democratic electoral system, followed by a review of the contemporary electoral process.
11. Parliamentary Sovereignty within the European Union
Authors: Loveland Ian
Published: September 2021

This chapter examines the way in which the UK’s membership in the European Economic Community (EEC) prompted changes in the domestic constitutional order. The discussions include the founding principles of the Treaty of Rome; the accession of the UK into the EEC; EEC law, parliamentary sovereignty, and the UK courts; and the horizontal and vertical effects of directives. The chapter explores the controversies engendered by the Maastricht, Amsterdam, and Lisbon Treaties; and concludes by assessing in what senses continued EC membership in the early part of the twenty-first century might have entailed a loss of the UK’s ‘sovereignty’ to a federal European constitution and a rebalancing of power within the domestic constitution between Parliament and the courts.
15. Challenging Governmental Decisions: The Process
Authors: Loveland Ian
Published: September 2021

This chapter examines the legal procedures an applicant must follow when challenging a government decision and explores how court decisions in this nominally very technical area of administrative law can have profound implications for the meaning in practical terms of such broad constitutional principles as the rule of law and the sovereignty of Parliament. The chapter begins by examining the historical duality with English administrative law of the mechanism through which citizens might question the lawfulness of government action. The chapter then continues to cover the case of Barnard v National Dock Labour Board; the Order 53 reforms; the case of O’Reilly v Mackman (1982); the post-O’Reilly case law; the case of Roy v Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster Family Practitioner Committee; and public law principle as a defence in criminal proceedings.
16. Locus Standi
Authors: Loveland Ian
Published: September 2021

This chapter focuses on the concept of locus standi, perhaps the most important way in which administrative law deals with the question of how to balance the protection of individual citizens’ rights and interests with the desire to ensure that government decision-making remains within legal limits and that government bodies (including the courts) are protected from vexatious litigants. It is organised as follows. The first section addresses the law that existed prior to the introduction of the Order 53 reforms in 1977 whilst the second covers the short period between the introduction of those reforms and the House of Lords’ decision in IRC v National Federation of Self-Employed and Small Businesses. The third section runs from the mid-1980s to the present day. The pervasive analytical concerns are to explore the way the law of locus standi interacts with the question of the choice of procedure issues which were addressed in chapter fifteen, and—more broadly—to assess how those two matters both singly and in combination structure in a practical sense the way our constitution gives effect to the various values inherent in theories relating to the rule of law and sovereignty of Parliament.
19. Human Rights III: The Human Rights Act 1998
Authors: Loveland Ian
Published: September 2021

This chapter discusses the main provisions of the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA) and considers its implications for the understandings attached to the core constitutional principles of parliamentary sovereignty, the rule of law, and the separation of powers. The chapter argues that the Blair government’s rapid and determined efforts to convince Parliament to pass the HRA demonstrates that members of the first New Labour administration did not share the simplistic view of democracy embraced by the Conservative Party during the judicial supremacism episode. The 1998 Act may be criticised on the basis that it transfers a dangerous amount of political power from the government to the judges, but the sentiments evinced by many Conservative MPs on this issue had little to commend them from a constitutional perspective.
7. Legislative Powers
Authors: Schütze Robert
Published: September 2021

This chapter addresses what the legislative powers of the European Union are, and what types of procedures are legislative procedures. It begins by analysing the scope of the Union’s legislative competences. This scope is limited, as the Union is not a sovereign State. The chapter then looks at the different categories of Union competences. Depending on what competence category is involved, the Union will enjoy distinct degrees of legislative power. The chapter also considers the identity of the Union legislator. Various legislative procedures thereby determine how the Union must exercise its legislative competences. Finally, the chapter scrutinizes the principle of subsidiarity as a constitutional principle that controls the exercise of the Union’s shared legislative powers.
8. External Powers
Authors: Schütze Robert
Published: September 2021

This chapter explores the external competences and procedures of the European Union. Sadly, the Union here suffers from a ‘split personality’ because it has a split constitutional regime for foreign affairs. It has a general competence for its ‘Common Foreign and Security Policy’ (CFSP) within the TEU; and it enjoys various specific external powers within the TFEU. The chapter analyses each of these competences and their respective nature. It then looks at the procedural dimension of the external relations of the Union. How will the Union act, and which institutions need to cooperate for it to act? This depends on which of the two constitutional regimes applies. While the CFSP is still characterized by an ‘executive’ dominance, the procedures within the Union’s special external powers are closer to the ‘legislative’ branch. Finally, the chapter considers two constitutional safeguards regulating the exercise of shared external competences: mixed agreements and the duty of loyal cooperation.
9. Executive Powers
Authors: Schütze Robert
Published: September 2021

This chapter studies three executive powers in the context of the European Union. It begins with an examination of the political power to act as government. The ‘steering’ power of high politics belongs to two EU institutions: the European Council and the Commission. The Union ‘government’ is thus based on a ‘dual executive’. The chapter then moves to an analysis of the (delegated) legislative powers of the Union executive. The central provisions here are Articles 290 and 291 TFEU. The European legal order has allowed for wide delegations of power to the Commission; while nonetheless insisting on substantive and procedural safeguards to protect federalism and democracy. Finally, the chapter looks at the (administrative) enforcement powers of the Union. Based on the idea of ‘executive federalism’, the power to apply and enforce European law is here divided between the Union and the Member States. The Union can—exceptionally—execute its own law; yet, as a rule, it is the Member States that primarily execute Union law.
9. Liability for defective premises and structures
Authors: Witting Christian
Published: September 2021

This chapter examines the potential liability for injury and/or other forms of loss arising from being upon or use of defective premises and structures. It explains that there are two types of defendant in this area of negligence. The first are persons actually occupying premises and the second are those who might be liable for defects in the premises including landlords, builders, and professionals such as architects and consulting engineers. Much of the relevant law here is statutory, the common law supplementing the statutory provisions. This chapter discusses the provisions of the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957, the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1984, and Defective Premises Act 1972.
12. Trespass to land
Authors: Witting Christian
Published: September 2021

This chapter examines the protection against interferences with land provided by tort law. Land in this context includes not only the surface of the land but areas above and below it as well as fixtures. The chapter explains that the action for trespass to land protects the interest of the claimant in having his land free from the unjustified physical intrusion of another, and thus protects (once again) possession rather than title as such. The chapter discusses the elements of trespass and describes the types of acts that constitute it. It considers also remedies available for defendants in trespass to land cases, which include injunctions, actions for the recovery of land, and damages.
18. The rule in Rylands v Fletcher
Authors: Witting Christian
Published: September 2021

This chapter examines the rule in Rylands v Fletcher, which is probably the best-known example of a strict liability tort in English law. It explains that the rule in this case highlighted various elements of the tort, such as non-natural use and escape, which must be present before liability can be imposed. It discusses criticisms of the rule, particularly about whether it really amounts to an instance of strict liability in tort, and considers the recent judicial view that it is merely a sub-branch of the law of private nuisance. Comparison of the two torts would suggest that the Rylands tort is separate and distinct from private nuisance.
23. Misuse of process and public powers
Authors: Witting Christian
Published: September 2021

This chapter examines the provisions of tort law concerning misuse of process and public powers, these rules having long been features of English law. It discusses elements of the three principal causes of action, which are malicious prosecution (for legal claims brought without reasonable cause), abuse of process (for legal proceedings commenced with a wrongful predominant purpose), and misfeasance in a public office. The chapter highlights the need to balance the protection of individual rights and interests against the conduct of public administration and the administration of justice. This chapter considers also the limits to witness immunity and abuse of the legal process.
24. Vicarious liability
Authors: Witting Christian
Published: September 2021

This chapter examines the provisions of tort law on vicarious liability. It discusses the distinction between employees and independent contractors and explains that an employer is liable ordinarily only for the torts of his employees. However, the courts have started to impose vicarious liability with respect to other types of relationship that are ‘akin to employment’. In all cases, the tort should have been committed either in the course of employment or with sufficient connection to the employment. The chapter considers also the breach of non-delegable duty. Finally, it considers various justifications for the imposition of stricter liability in tort law.
26. Remedies
Authors: Witting Christian
Published: September 2021

This chapter examines the basic principles of remedies for tort claims. The judicial remedies include damages and injunctions. This chapter discusses principles concerning the award of the different types of damages, which include nominal damages (for rights infringements resulting in no tangible loss), aggravated damages (for affronts to the claimant’s dignity), exemplary damages (which are designed to punish and deter future wrongdoing), and contemptuous damages. Special reference is made to the application of the principles in cases of death and personal injury, the former topic encompassing discussion of the survival of actions principle and of the Fatal Accidents Act 1976.
6. Special duty problems: public bodies
Authors: Horsey Kirsty , Rackley Erika
Published: September 2021

This chapter explains what happens when a public body owes a private law duty of care to an individual who claims against it in negligence. It remains the case that public bodies will be liable where the negligent exercise of their powers makes a situation worse than it already was. The discussions cover the general exclusionary rule; the current state of the law; the background to D v East Berkshire [2005]; rules for claims brought against the emergency services (including the police) and armed forces; other types of public body; and new types of claims: education-based claims and ‘social’ claims.
12. Product liability
Authors: Horsey Kirsty , Rackley Erika
Published: September 2021

This chapter discusses the ways in which liability for defective products is regulated in tort law and which is primarily regulated by statute. The chapter considers manufacturers’ liability in negligence and the problems claimants may encounter when trying to sue. This leads to a later development relating to product liability—the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) 1987—enacted to ensure better protection of consumers from defective goods by making producers strictly liable for harms caused by the products they market. However, a claimant may still claim in negligence due to the statutory limitations in relation to certain types of claim.
18. Trespass to land and nuisance
Authors: Horsey Kirsty , Rackley Erika
Published: September 2021

This chapter examines torts of trespass to land and nuisance. Trespass to land is concerned with direct harm, and the tort’s primary importance is the protection of property rights. Harm in this context does not necessarily mean actual damage to the land concerned. The harm lies in the fact that land owned by one party has been unjustifiably interfered with by another. Private nuisance deals with indirect and unreasonable interferences to land, including what might be called consequential interferences resulting from a direct action. Private nuisance regulates relationships and conflicts between neighbours, defining their mutual rights and obligations with respect to land use. Many aspects of the law of nuisance, including determining whether an injunction or damages is the appropriate remedy, were clarified by the Supreme Court in Coventry v Lawrence [2014].
12. Trustees’ duties
Authors: Watt Gary
Published: September 2021

Without assuming prior legal knowledge, books in the Directions series introduce and guide readers through key points of law and legal debate. Questions, diagrams and exercises help readers to engage fully with each subject and check their understanding as they progress. In general, trustees have all the duties and burdens whereas the beneficiaries have all the rights and benefits. A breach of duties can result in personal liability for the trustee. The Trustee Act 2000 has made trusteeship more attractive to trust corporations and professional trustees by granting them improved powers of delegation and raising a presumption in favour of their remuneration without prejudicing the potential of trust instruments to make even more generous provision by express terms. This chapter analyses some specific duties of trustees and the consequences of accepting office, the extent of the duty to act gratuitously and to provide personal service, the rule against fiduciary profits, and a breach of duty to act impartially, as well as the duty to keep trust accounts. It also discusses the Trustee Act 2000, the trust instrument and quantum meruit.
8. The international law of the sea
Authors: Henriksen Anders
Published: September 2021

The international law of the sea is one of the oldest disciplines of public international law. In fact, the identification and application of principles for governing the roughly 70 per cent of the earth’s surface that consists of water has been a topic of interest for centuries. This chapter deals with the main principles and rules that make up the international legal regulation of the seas. It begins by discussing the most important legal sources in the law of the sea, including the 1982 United Nations Law of the Sea Convention. It then discusses the spatial partitioning of the sea and the different maritime zones that exist in the law of the sea; discusses piracy; and examines a number of selected issues relating to the conservation of marine life. The final section provides a short introduction to dispute settlement in the law of the sea.
12. The peaceful settlement of disputes
Authors: Henriksen Anders
Published: September 2021

This chapter discusses some of the more relevant methods for peaceful dispute settlement. It begins by introducing a number of non-adjudicatory settlement mechanisms and providing a brief overview of the role played by the UN. It then discusses the adjudicatory means of settling disputes, including international arbitration; the competences and powers of the International Court of Justice; issues of access to the Court and the Court’s jurisdiction in contentious cases; the power of the Court to issue provisional measures; the effects of the Court’s decisions; the relationship between the Court and the UN Security Council; and the Court’s competence to issue advisory opinions.
14. The law of armed conflict
Authors: Henriksen Anders
Published: September 2021

This chapter examines those parts of international law that regulate how military operations must be conducted jus in bello. It begins in Section 14.2 with an overview of the most important legal sources. Section 14.3 discusses when humanitarian law applies and Section 14.4 examines the issue of battlefield status and the distinction between combatants and civilians. Section 14.5 provides an overview of some of the most basic principles governing the conduct of hostilities while Section 14.6 concerns belligerent occupation and Section 14.7 deals with the regulation of non-international armed conflict. Finally, Section 14.8 explores the relationship between international humanitarian law and human rights law in times of armed conflict.
9. Homicide
Authors: Allen Michael J. , Edwards Ian
Published: September 2021

Course-focused and contextual, Criminal Law provides a succinct overview of the key areas on the law curriculum balanced with thought-provoking contextual discussion. This chapter discusses offences of homicide: murder and manslaughter. Murder is unlawful homicide committed with ‘malice aforethought’, the penalty being life imprisonment. Manslaughter generally covers all unlawful homicides which are not murder. The punishment for this offence is in the discretion of the court. Manslaughter may be divided into voluntary and involuntary manslaughter. Voluntary manslaughter arises where the accused has committed murder but circumstances of excuse or justification, either diminished responsibility or loss of self-control, are present, reducing his culpability. The chapter analyses the scope of these defences, situating them in the context of the abolition in 2009 of the provocation defence. Involuntary manslaughter is an unlawful killing where the accused lacked malice aforethought but otherwise had a state of mind which the law treats as culpable. Unlawful act manslaughter covers situations where a person has unlawfully killed as a result of committing an unlawful act, such as a punch. Gross negligence manslaughter covers situations where a person has unlawfully killed as a result of a gross breach of a duty of care owed to the victim. One of the chapter’s ‘The law in context’ features examines the sentencing for homicide offences in light of new guidelines from the Sentencing Council. A new ‘The law in context’ feature analyses the relevance of domestic abuse for the defences available to a woman charged with murdering her abusive partner.
14. Further offences under the Theft Acts
Authors: Allen Michael J. , Edwards Ian
Published: September 2021

Course-focused and contextual, Criminal Law provides a succinct overview of the key areas on the law curriculum balanced with thought-provoking contextual discussion. This chapter discusses the several offences in the Theft Acts 1968 and 1978, including: making off without payment; burglary (including discussion of the key terms ‘entry as a trespasser’, ‘building’, and the ulterior offences); aggravated burglary (burglary committed when the person has with them a firearm or imitation firearm, or offensive weapon); blackmail; handling stolen goods; and dishonestly retaining a wrongful credit. The feature ‘The law in context’ feature examines how burglars are sentenced, including the applicable sentencing guidelines, the evolution of relevant case law, and the ‘three strikes and you’re out’ mandatory sentence.
15. Criminal damage
Authors: Allen Michael J. , Edwards Ian
Published: September 2021

Course-focused and contextual, Criminal Law provides a succinct overview of the key areas on the law curriculum balanced with thought-provoking contextual discussion. The Criminal Damage Act 1971 includes the main offences in English law involving damage to property. This chapter discusses the offence of destroying or damaging property belonging to another, destroying or damaging property with intent to endanger life, threats to destroy or damage property, possessing anything with intent to destroy or damage property, and racially or religiously aggravated criminal damage. The feature ‘The law in context’ examines the prosecution of environmental protesters for criminal damage, including their use of the lawful excuse defence.
13. Breach of contract
Authors: Merkin Robert , Saintier Séverine
Published: September 2021

Poole’s Casebook on Contract Law provides a comprehensive selection of case law that addresses all aspects of the subject encountered on undergraduate courses. The performance obligations of the parties to a contract are determined by contractual terms. A breach of contract arises when a party fails to fully comply with a performance obligation, without lawful excuse. If a contractual obligation is strict, failure to comply constitutes a breach of contract regardless of fault. Subject to an enforceable exemption clause, the injured party is entitled to damages to compensate for the loss suffered as a result of the breach. This chapter focuses on breach of contract and its legal consequences. It discusses the election on repudiatory breach; termination or affirmation of a contract; the classification of terms: conditions, warranties, and innominate or intermediate terms; the ‘entire obligation rule’; and anticipatory breach.
Sanders & Young's Criminal Justice
Authors: Welsh Lucy , Skinns Layla , Sanders Andrew
Published: September 2021

Criminal Justice provides a comprehensive overview of the criminal justice system in England and Wales (excluding punishment), as well as thought-provoking insights into how it might be altered and improved and research that might be needed to help accomplish this. Tracing the procedures surrounding the appre-hension, investigation, trial and appeal against conviction of suspected offenders, this book is the ideal com-panion for law and criminology students alike. As the authors combine the relevant legislation with fresh research findings and policy initiatives, the resulting text is a fascinating blend of socio-legal analysis. Whilst retaining its authoritative treatment of the issues at the heart of criminal justice, the book has been fully updated with recent developments, including terrorism legislation and the initial Covid-related restrictions introduced in early-mid 2020. In this, the book’s 5th edition: two experienced new co-authors, Dr Layla Skinns and Dr Lucy Welsh, join Andrew Sanders (Richard Young having decided, 25+ years after the 1st edition, to do other things); the text features chapter summaries and selected further reading lists to support the student and encourage further research; the content of the book has been fully updated to include coverage of new legislation, case law, research and policy developments; and the text is enriched by the new authors’ specialist research into accountability, police custody, magistrates’ courts and criminal legal aid. The theoretical structure of the earlier editions is retained, but developed further by consideration of ‘core values’ in criminal justice and the impact of neoliberalism.
10. Inequalities and criminal justice
Authors: Welsh Lucy , Skinns Layla , Sanders Andrew
Published: September 2021

This chapter pulls together some of the issues mentioned in earlier chapters through a specific lens of inequality. The chapter highlights key areas of inequality in the criminal process by focusing on class, race and sex, but identifies intersections with a broader range of marginalised populations where information exists (and points to the need for research where the information does not yet exist). It discusses what we mean by inequality; key areas in which inequality in relation to class, race and sex manifest and intersect; inequity manifested in the criminal law; inequality as it manifests in policing; inequality as it manifests through sentencing; inequality experienced by victims; hate crimes; and ways that inequality could be reassessed and evaluated through discourses of rights and belonging.
Homologous Recombination Deficiency Alterations in Colorectal Cancer: Clinical, Molecular, and Prognostic Implications
Authors: Moretto Roberto , Elliott Andrew , Zhang Jian , Arai Hiroyuki , Germani Marco Maria , Conca Veronica , Xiu Joanne , Stafford Phillip , Oberley Matthew , Abraham Jim , Spetzler David , Rossini Daniele , Antoniotti Carlotta , Marshall John , Shields Anthony , Lopes Gilberto , Lonardi Sara , Pietrantonio Filippo , Tomasello Gianluca , Passardi Alessandro , Tamburini Emiliano , Santini Daniele , Aprile Giuseppe , Masi Gianluca , Falcone Alfredo , Lenz Heinz-Josef , Korn Michael , Cremolini Chiara
Published: September 2021

Background

Tumors with homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) show high sensitivity to platinum salts and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase–inhibitors in several malignancies. In colorectal cancer (CRC), the role of HRD alterations is mostly unknown.

Methods

Next-generation sequencing, whole transcriptome sequencing, and whole exome sequencing were conducted using CRC samples submitted to a commercial Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments certified laboratory. Tumors with pathogenic and/or presumed pathogenic mutations in 33 genes involved in the homologous recombination pathway were considered HRD, the others were homologous recombination proficient (HRP). Furthermore, tumor samples from patients enrolled in the phase III TRIBE2 study comparing upfront FOLFOXIRI+bevacizumab vs FOLFOX+bevacizumab were analyzed with next-generation sequencing. The analyses were separately conducted in microsatellite stable or proficient mismatch repair (MSS/pMMR) and microsatellite instable-high or deficient mismatch repair (MSI-H/dMMR) groups. All statistical tests were 2-sided.

Results

Of 9321 CRC tumors, 1270 (13.6%) and 8051 (86.4%) were HRD and HRP, respectively. HRD tumors were more frequent among MSI-H/dMMR than MSS/pMMR tumors (73.4% vs 9.5%; P  < .001; q < 0.001). In MSS/pMMR group, HRD tumors were more frequently tumor mutational burden high (8.1% vs 2.2%; P  < .001; q < 0.001) and PD-L1 positive (5.0% vs 2.4%; P  < .001; q = 0.001), enriched in all immune cell and fibroblast populations and genomic loss of heterozygosity-high (16.2% vs 9.5%; P = .03). In the TRIBE2 study, patients with MSS/pMMR and HRD tumors (10.7%) showed longer overall survival compared with MSS/pMMR and HRP tumors (40.2 vs 23.8 months; hazard ratio [HR] = 0.66, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.45 to 0.98; P = .04). Consistent results were reported in the multivariable model (HR = 0.67, 95% CI = 0.45 to 1.02; P = .07). No interaction effect was evident between homologous recombination groups and treatment arm.

Conclusions

HRD tumors are a distinctive subgroup of MSS/pMMR CRCs with specific molecular and prognostic characteristics. The potential efficacy of agents targeting the homologous recombination system and immune checkpoint inhibitors in this subgroup is worthy of clinical investigation.
pH modulates interaction of 14-3-3 proteins with pollen plasma membrane H+ ATPases independently from phosphorylation
Authors: Pertl-Obermeyer Heidi , Gimeno Ana , Kuchler Verena , Servili Evrim , Huang Shuai , Fang Han , Lang Veronika , Sydow Katharina , Pöckl Magdalena , Schulze Waltraud X , Obermeyer Gerhard
Published: September 2021

Pollen grains transport the sperm cells through the style tissue via a fast-growing pollen tube to the ovaries where fertilization takes place. Pollen tube growth requires a precisely regulated network of cellular as well as molecular events including the activity of the plasma membrane H+ ATPase, which is known to be regulated by reversible protein phosphorylation and subsequent binding of 14-3-3 isoforms. Immunodetection of the phosphorylated penultimate threonine residue of the pollen plasma membrane H+ ATPase (LilHA1) of Lilium longiflorum pollen revealed a sudden increase in phosphorylation with the start of pollen tube growth. In addition to phosphorylation, pH modulated the binding of 14-3-3 isoforms to the regulatory domain of the H+ ATPase, whereas metabolic components had only small effects on 14-3-3 binding, as tested with in vitro assays using recombinant 14-3-3 isoforms and phosphomimicking substitutions of the threonine residue. Consequently, local H+ influxes and effluxes as well as pH gradients in the pollen tube tip are generated by localized regulation of the H+ ATPase activity rather than by heterogeneous localized distribution in the plasma membrane.
Just-in-Time Training for the Use of ICU Nurse Extenders During COVID-19 Pandemic Response
Authors: Duffy Julie R , Vergara Mario A
Published: September 2021

Landstuhl Regional Medical Center’s response to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic included a plan to provide just-in-time training for nursing staff and paraprofessionals from throughout the organization in the event that it became overwhelmed with more critically ill patients than the facility was staffed to manage. Training conducted was a combination of online learning from the Society of Critical Care Medicine and the Association of Critical Care Nurses as well as a 2-hour block of hands-on skills. The three competencies for floating staff from Wright’s Method for Competency Assessment were utilized in the training process, allowing trainees to (1) learn to fly, (2) market themselves in a positive way, and (3) understand crisis management options. Quick implementation of the plan led to over 125 nurses and paraprofessionals receiving the education and training in preparation for the pandemic response. The article further discusses training topics covered and the competency expectations for non-critical care nurses trained.
A New World Monkey Resembles Human in Bitter Taste Receptor Evolution and Function via a Single Parallel Amino Acid Substitution
Authors: Yang Hui , Yang Songlin , Fan Fei , Li Yun , Dai Shaoxing , Zhou Xin , Steiner Cynthia C , Coppedge Bretton , Roos Christian , Cai Xianghai , Irwin David M , Shi Peng
Published: September 2021

Bitter taste receptors serve as a vital component in the defense system against toxin intake by animals, and the family of genes encoding these receptors has been demonstrated, usually by family size variance, to correlate with dietary preference. However, few systematic studies of specific Tas2R to unveil their functional evolution have been conducted. Here, we surveyed Tas2R16 across all major clades of primates and reported a rare case of a convergent change to increase sensitivity to β-glucopyranosides in human and a New World monkey, the white-faced saki. Combining analyses at multiple levels, we demonstrate that a parallel amino acid substitution (K172N) shared by these two species is responsible for this functional convergence of Tas2R16. Considering the specialized feeding preference of the white-faced saki, the K172N change likely played an important adaptive role in its early evolution to avoid potentially toxic cyanogenic glycosides, as suggested for the human TAS2R16 gene.
A Probabilistic Model for Indel Evolution: Differentiating Insertions from Deletions
Authors: Loewenthal Gil , Rapoport Dana , Avram Oren , Moshe Asher , Wygoda Elya , Itzkovitch Alon , Israeli Omer , Azouri Dana , Cartwright Reed A , Mayrose Itay , Pupko Tal
Published: September 2021

Insertions and deletions (indels) are common molecular evolutionary events. However, probabilistic models for indel evolution are under-developed due to their computational complexity. Here, we introduce several improvements to indel modeling: 1) While previous models for indel evolution assumed that the rates and length distributions of insertions and deletions are equal, here we propose a richer model that explicitly distinguishes between the two; 2) we introduce numerous summary statistics that allow approximate Bayesian computation-based parameter estimation; 3) we develop a method to correct for biases introduced by alignment programs, when inferring indel parameters from empirical data sets; and 4) using a model-selection scheme, we test whether the richer model better fits biological data compared with the simpler model. Our analyses suggest that both our inference scheme and the model-selection procedure achieve high accuracy on simulated data. We further demonstrate that our proposed richer model better fits a large number of empirical data sets and that, for the majority of these data sets, the deletion rate is higher than the insertion rate.
Towards spruce-type photosystem II: consequences of the loss of light-harvesting proteins LHCB3 and LHCB6 in Arabidopsis
Authors: Ilíková Iva , Ilík Petr , Opatíková Monika , Arshad Rameez , Nosek Lukáš , Karlický Václav , Kučerová Zuzana , Roudnický Pavel , Pospíšil Pavel , Lazár Dušan , Bartoš Jan , Kouřil Roman
Published: September 2021

The largest stable photosystem II (PSII) supercomplex in land plants (C2S2M2) consists of a core complex dimer (C2), two strongly (S2) and two moderately (M2) bound light-harvesting protein (LHCB) trimers attached to C2 via monomeric antenna proteins LHCB4–6. Recently, we have shown that LHCB3 and LHCB6, presumably essential for land plants, are missing in Norway spruce (Picea abies), which results in a unique structure of its C2S2M2 supercomplex. Here, we performed structure–function characterization of PSII supercomplexes in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) mutants lhcb3, lhcb6, and lhcb3 lhcb6 to examine the possibility of the formation of the “spruce-type” PSII supercomplex in angiosperms. Unlike in spruce, in Arabidopsis both LHCB3 and LHCB6 are necessary for stable binding of the M trimer to PSII core. The “spruce-type” PSII supercomplex was observed with low abundance only in the lhcb3 plants and its formation did not require the presence of LHCB4.3, the only LHCB4-type protein in spruce. Electron microscopy analysis of grana membranes revealed that the majority of PSII in lhcb6 and namely in lhcb3 lhcb6 mutants were arranged into C2S2 semi-crystalline arrays, some of which appeared to structurally restrict plastoquinone diffusion. Mutants without LHCB6 were characterized by fast induction of non-photochemical quenching and, on the contrary to the previous lhcb6 study, by only transient slowdown of electron transport between PSII and PSI. We hypothesize that these functional changes, associated with the arrangement of PSII into C2S2 arrays in thylakoids, may be important for the photoprotection of both PSI and PSII upon abrupt high-light exposure.
Phylogenetic Signal and Bias in Paleontology
Authors: Asher Robert J , Smith Martin R
Published: September 2021

An unprecedented amount of evidence now illuminates the phylogeny of living mammals and birds on the Tree of Life. We use this tree to measure the phylogenetic value of data typically used in paleontology (bones and teeth) from six data sets derived from five published studies. We ask three interrelated questions: 1) Can these data adequately reconstruct known parts of the Tree of Life? 2) Is accuracy generally similar for studies using morphology, or do some morphological data sets perform better than others? 3) Does the loss of non-fossilizable data cause taxa to occur in misleadingly basal positions? Adding morphology to DNA data sets usually increases congruence of resulting topologies to the well-corroborated tree, but this varies among morphological data sets. Extant taxa with a high proportion of missing morphological characters can greatly reduce phylogenetic resolution when analyzed together with fossils. Attempts to ameliorate this by deleting extant taxa missing morphology are prone to decreased accuracy due to long-branch artifacts. We find no evidence that fossilization causes extinct taxa to incorrectly appear at or near topologically basal branches. Morphology comprises the evidence held in common by living taxa and fossils, and phylogenetic analysis of fossils greatly benefits from inclusion of molecular and morphological data sampled for living taxa, whatever methods are used for phylogeny estimation. [Concatenation; fossilization; morphology; parsimony; systematics; taphonomy; total-evidence.]
Using Accreditation to Transform Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Efforts Into Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Systems
Authors: Nora Lois Margaret
Published: September 2021

The Liaison Committee on Medical Education accreditation process is an important component of professional regulation and is used by medical schools to strengthen their medical education programs. Accreditation-related consultations with schools often include a review of relevant documents, stakeholder interviews, and mock site visits. A review by the author of this commentary of these consultations at 17 schools showed variability in how information regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) was incorporated and discussed in accreditation-related materials and interviews.

At all schools, DEI information emerged in materials related to the accreditation standards that specifically inquire into DEI. However, at some schools, DEI emerged more broadly across a variety of standards. These differences suggest that considering the totality of the Liaison Committee on Medical Education standards and elements may be a useful tool for enabling schools to analyze and describe their DEI efforts, consider additional ways to engage in continuous quality improvement related to DEI, and achieve institutional DEI goals.

In addition, a small number of the reviewed schools appeared to have had particular success in meeting institutional DEI goals. An appreciative inquiry-informed review suggested that these exemplar schools had both area-specific and cross-functional systems focused on achieving DEI goals. In addition, senior leadership demonstrated a commitment to DEI, DEI champions were empowered, and leaders displayed legislative-style and systems leadership skills. Schools that nurture these characteristics may be better positioned to advance DEI. Scholarly evaluation of these observations is necessary.