bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The ENDOMIX perspective: how everyday chemical mixtures impact human health and reproduction by targeting the immune system
Authors: Gómez-Olarte Sergio , Mailänder Verena , Castro-Neves Júlia , Stojanovska Violeta , Schumacher Anne , Meyer Nicole , Zenclussen Ana C
Published: October 2024

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals are natural and synthetic compounds found ubiquitously in the environment that interfere with the hormonal-immune axis, potentially impacting human health and reproduction. Exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals has been associated with numerous health risks, such as neurodevelopmental disorders, metabolic syndrome, thyroid dysfunction, infertility, and cancers. Nevertheless, the current approach to establishing causality between these substances and disease outcomes has limitations. Epidemiological and experimental research on endocrine-disrupting chemicals faces challenges in accurately assessing chemical exposure and interpreting non-monotonic dose response curves. In addition, most studies have focused on single chemicals or simple mixtures, overlooking complex real-life exposures and mechanistic insights, in particular regarding endocrine-disrupting chemicals' impact on the immune system. The ENDOMIX project, funded by the EU’s Horizon Health Program, addresses these challenges by integrating epidemiological, risk assessment, and immunotoxicology methodologies. This systemic approach comprises the triangulation of human cohort, in vitro, and in vivo data to determine the combined effects of chemical mixtures. The present review presents and discusses current literature regarding human reproduction in the context of immunotolerance and chemical disruption mode of action. It further underscores the ENDOMIX perspective to elucidate the impact of endocrine-disrupting chemicals on immune-reproductive health.
Wind Power Forecasting over India: Value-addition to a Coupled Model Seasonal Forecasts
Authors: Kumar Sushant , Singh Priya , Gupta Ankur , Ashrit Raghavendra , Kumar Mishra Akhilesh , Rai Shailendra
Published: October 2024

Accurate predictions of wind power generation several months in advance are crucial for the effective operation and maintenance of wind farms and for facilitating efficient power purchase planning. This study evaluates the performance of the seasonal prediction system of the National Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting in forecasting near-surface winds. An analysis of 23 years of hindcast data, from 1993 to 2015, indicates that the seasonal prediction system effectively captures the inter-annual variability of near-surface winds. Specifically, predictions initialized in May demonstrate notable accuracy, with a skill score of 0.78 in predicting the sign of wind speed anomalies aggregated across various wind farms during the high-wind season (June-August). Additionally, we critically examine the peculiarity of a case study from 2020, when the Indian wind industry experienced low power generation. To enhance forecasting accuracy, we employ statistical techniques to produce bias-corrected forecasts on a seasonal scale. This approach improves the accuracy of wind speed predictions at turbine hub height. Our assessment, based on root mean square error, reveals that bias-corrected wind speed forecasts show a significant improvement, ranging from 54% to 93%.
Patterns of trajectories of glycated hemoglobin, fasting plasma glucose, and body mass index until the first clinic visit: the real-world history of type 2 diabetes using repeated health checkup data of Japanese workers
Authors: Takao Toshiko , Suka Machi , Nishikawa Masako , Yanagisawa Hiroyuki , Ishii Toru
Published: October 2024

Background

There is a lack of evidence regarding the trajectories of type 2 diabetes until the first clinic visit, including the untreated period after diagnosis.

Objective

We aimed to determine the real-world history of type 2 diabetes until the first clinic visit, including the untreated duration, and to assess the effective timing of the therapeutic intervention.

Methods

A total of 23,622 nondiabetic Japanese workers with a mean (SD) age of 38.8 (11.5) years were retrospectively followed from 2008 to 2022 for annual health checkups. The trajectories of glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), fasting plasma glucose (FPG), and body mass index (BMI) until the first clinic visit in diabetes individuals were determined. ROC analysis was performed to assess the contribution of each measure to the first visit.

Results

During a median follow-up of 12.0 years, 1,725 individuals developed type 2 diabetes, of whom 532 individuals visited clinics. HbA1c and FPG trajectories steeply rose in the year before the first clinic visit after their progressive upward trends. ROC analysis showed cutoff values for each measure. As the untreated duration increased, glycemia increased and BMI decreased among individuals who visited clinics.

Conclusions

To prevent the initial worsening of diabetes, early therapeutic intervention is necessary during the increasing trends before the steep rise in glycemia, regardless of the degree of obesity. HbA1c ≥6.5% (47.5 mmol/mol) and an HbA1c ≥0.2% (2.2 mmol/mol)/year increase may be an effective timing for therapeutic intervention.
Genomes of Microtus Rodents Highlight the Importance of Olfactory and Immune Systems in Their Fast Radiation
Authors: Gouy Alexandre , Wang Xuejing , Kapopoulou Adamandia , Neuenschwander Samuel , Schmid Emanuel , Excoffier Laurent , Heckel Gerald
Published: October 2024

The characterization of genes and biological functions underlying functional diversification and the formation of species is a major goal of evolutionary biology. In this study, we investigated the fast radiation of Microtus voles, one of the most speciose group of mammals, which shows strong genetic divergence despite few readily observable morphological differences. We produced an annotated reference genome for the common vole, Microtus arvalis, and resequenced the genomes of 10 different species and evolutionary lineages spanning the Microtus speciation continuum. Our full-genome sequences illustrate the recent and fast diversification of this group, and we identified genes in highly divergent genomic windows that have likely particular roles in their radiation. We found three biological functions enriched for highly divergent genes in most Microtus species and lineages: olfaction, immunity and metabolism. In particular, olfaction-related genes (mostly olfactory receptors and vomeronasal receptors) are fast evolving in all Microtus species indicating the exceptional importance of the olfactory system in the evolution of these rodents. Of note is e.g. the shared signature among vole species on Olfr1019 which has been associated with fear responses against predator odors in rodents. Our analyses provide a genome-wide basis for the further characterization of the ecological factors and processes of natural and sexual selection that have contributed to the fast radiation of Microtus voles.
Robust full waveform inversion with deep Hessian deblurring
Authors: Alfarhan Mustafa , Ravasi Matteo , Chen Fuqiang , Alkhalifah Tariq
Published: October 2024

Full waveform inversion (FWI) is a technique widely used in geophysics to obtain high-resolution subsurface velocity models from waveform seismic data. Due to its large computation cost, most flavours of FWI rely only on the computation of the gradient of the loss function to estimate the update direction, therefore ignoring the contribution of the Hessian. Depending on the level of computational resources one can afford, an approximate of the inverse of the Hessian can be calculated and used to speed up the convergence of FWI towards the global (or a plausible local) minimum. In this work, we propose to use an approximate Hessian computed from a linearization of the wave equation as commonly done in least-squares migration. More precisely, we rely on the link between a migrated image and a doubly migrated image (i.e. an image obtained by demigration–migration of the migrated image) to estimate the inverse of the Hessian. However, instead of using non-stationary compact filters to link the two images and approximate the Hessian, we propose to use a deep neural network to directly learn the mapping between the FWI gradient (output) and its Hessian (blurred) counterpart (input). By doing so, the network learns to act as an approximate inverse Hessian: as such, when the trained network is applied to the FWI gradient, an enhanced update direction is obtained, which is shown to be beneficial for the convergence of FWI. The weights of the trained (deblurring) network are then transferred to the next FWI iteration to expedite convergence. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach on two synthetic data sets and a field data set.
Motion-Mimicking Robotic Finger Prosthesis for Burn-induced Partial Hand Amputee: A Case Report
Authors: Joo So Young , Cho Yoon Soo , Seo Jisu , Seo Yurim , Yi Sangho , Seo Cheong Hoon
Published: October 2024

Burn injuries often result in severe hand complications, including joint contractures and nerve damage, sometimes leading to amputation. Despite early treatment, hypertrophic scarring frequently hampers hand function recovery, and the thick raised scar blocks electromyography (EMG) sensing. A promising solution involves motion-mimicking robotic finger prostheses tailored to individual patient requirements. By using the versatility of motion-capturing technology on a sound finger, a robotic finger prosthesis can mimic the movement of a sound finger simultaneously with less latency than EMG-based sensory mechanisms through hypertrophic scars. This case study evaluated the clinical efficacy of a customized three-dimensional printed robotic finger prosthesis in a 24-year-old man who sustained left second finger loss due to electrical burns. Despite undergoing reconstructive surgery, the patient struggled with manual dexterity. Following the adoption of a personalized robotic finger prosthesis with a finger motion-capturing device, significant improvements in grip strength and daily task performance were observed. This innovative approach has advantages such as customization, reduced latency time for finger movements, and affordability from low-cost manufacturing, suggesting its potential for broader adoption among burn-induced amputees.
The 2023 American Burn Association Research and Advocacy Summit: Our Roadmap
Authors: Cartotto Robert , Becker Sue , Coffey Rebecca , Hill David M , Hoarle Kimberly A , Holmes James H , Kubasiak John , Moffatt Lauren , Schulman Carl I , Parry Ingrid
Published: October 2024

Research is one of the American burn association’s (ABA) strategic priorities. Advocacy is required not only to promote burn research, but also, the ABA’s other strategic priorities (Prevention, Quality, and Education). The ABA convened a two-day Research and Advocacy (R&A) Summit in September 2023, to develop a roadmap for the organization’s R&A efforts. The in-person summit identified fourteen key R&A initiatives. A multidisciplinary workgroup then developed strategies to achieve each initiative. The initiatives and strategies were then approved by the ABA’s Board of Trustees as our organization’s roadmap for R&A. The next task will be to implement the initiatives. This will require not only oversight from the ABA’s Board of Trustees, but also effort from and collaboration between several of the ABA’s committees and panels, including the burn science advisory panel, the research committee, the prevention committee, The governmental affairs committee, The organization and delivery of burn care committee, the quality and burn registry committee, the ad hoc Coding Committee, and the ABA’s Central Office.
The utility of an algorithm based on procalcitonin monitoring in patients with sepsis
Authors: de Lózar de la Viña Alicia , Andrade Vivero Gloria , Palencia Herrejón Eduardo , Márquez Liétor Eva , Talaván Zanón Tamar , Pérez-Fernández Elia , Cava Valenciano Fernando , Tamayo Gómez Eduardo
Published: October 2024

Objective

The aim of the study was to develop and validate an algorithm based on procalcitonin (PCT) monitoring to predict the prognosis of patients with sepsis.

Design

The design was a retrospective and observational prospective study.

Setting

The study was set in intensive care units (ICUs) in 2 different hospitals in Spain.

Patients

Patients in the study included 101 patients with sepsis aged ≥18 years.

Interventions

In the retrospective study, PCT results from patients admitted to the ICU in 2011-2012 were collected. In the prospective study, PCT was determined at specific time points as indicated by the algorithm from March 2018 to April 2019. The primary outcome measure, 28-day mortality, was the main variable of interest.

Results

The study developed an algorithm based on early PCT monitoring for predicting the prognosis of patients with sepsis. The algorithm was initially developed retrospectively in 1 cohort and subsequently validated prospectively in another cohort.

Conclusions

The developed algorithm provides information on the prognosis of patients with sepsis, distinguishing between those with a good prognosis and those with a poor prognosis (defined as mortality).
Freedom Road
Authors: Finch Andrew J.
Published: October 2024

After creating an adolescent treatment program within the new Fetter family health center, the program director, Lon DeLeon, led the design of an alternative school. Charleston schools superintendent Alton Crews approved funding two teachers and the enrollment of students. A local church provided space, and the Freedom Road school opened in October 1973, becoming the first publicly funded high school for students with substance use disorders not located in a treatment facility. Though most students were receiving primary treatment, several had completed treatment and were in recovery. The chapter delves into the segregated systems which contributed to the school being predominantly White despite having a diverse staff, the connection to a predominantly Black public health center, location in a Black community, free services, and a facility that had been an all-Black parochial school. As initial funding sources dissolved, the school closed in 1980.
Sock and Buskin
Authors: Finch Andrew J.
Published: October 2024

The development of P.E.A.S.E. Academy and Sobriety High is explored in this culminating chapter. Both programs had emerged from Carol Robson’s New Dimensions School, and their stories intertwined with the growth of the recovery high school movement in Minnesota. The chapter describes the possibilities and limitations experienced by students and staff. As the founders transitioned away from both schools, new leaders built upon the foundations but took the schools in directions somewhat different from what was initially conceived. Both schools moved to new locations, but the change was clearest at Sobriety High. Under Neiditch’s leadership, Sobriety High recruited influential donors to its board of directors, replaced Bruce McLean and Carol Robson with new teachers, including Judi Hanson, and began major fundraising and marketing campaigns that would transform the school.
Religion and Spirituality as Buffers Against Islamophobia in the Lives of Asian American Youth
Authors: Husain Altaf , Hijazi Hannan , Carlis Sarah
Published: October 2024

Muslims have lived in the United States for nearly seven centuries, having first been brought forcibly from West Africa as enslaved people. While a Muslim presence existed in the United States for centuries, it was not until the immigration reforms of 1965 that large numbers of Muslims from all parts of the world, particularly Asia, immigrated to the United States. This chapter focuses on Asian American Muslims and, specifically, on the impact of anti-Islamic bigotry on youth who self-identify as Muslim. The latest research shows the need to focus especially on the impact of Islamophobia on Muslim youth. A range of acculturative stressors place a tremendous burden especially on Asian American Muslim youth. The chapter explores the impact of anti-Islamic bigotry on youth and how religion and spirituality serve as buffers against such bigotry. The chapter concludes with recommendations for social work advocacy on behalf of Asian American Muslim Youth.
The Impact of Anti-Asian Racism on the Psychosocial Well-Being of Older Asian Americans
Authors: Sun Fei , Gao Siyu , Liu Ethan , Feng Yali
Published: October 2024

This chapter critically examines empirical evidence pertaining to the impact of racism on the psychosocial well-being of older Asian Americans and summarizes research, practice, and policy recommendations for mitigating racism and discrimination among this demographic. The authors searched six prominent academic databases including PsycINFO, Medline, CINAHL, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and Scopus. Additionally, they used ProQuest and EBSCO to cross-search for additional eligible articles. Included articles had to be empirical ones published in peer-reviewed English journals between January 1, 2000 and April 1, 2023, with a focus on the relationship between racism/discrimination and psychosocial well-being outcomes in older Asian Americans, including specific Asian American subgroups. The synthesized results of 14 articles indicate that 7.2–30% of older Asian Americans experienced instances of racism, resulting in substantial adverse effects on their psychosocial well-being. Findings also suggest a variety of individual, family, community, and societal contextual factors can moderate the effects of racism on older Asians’ psychosocial well-being. Considering these findings, more research is needed to illuminate the underlying mechanisms via which racism affects psychosocial well-being. Policy and practice efforts need to actively involve Asian ethnic communities and leverage their strengths to address racism and discrimination among older Asian Americans.
Going Beyond the Theory of Social Closure
Authors: Mackert Jürgen
Published: October 2024

The chapter examines concepts within the theory of social closure that could, in principle, serve as theoretical points of reference but which we have to leave behind if we want to move forward. It appreciates the role of the state in understanding social closure and supports a nuanced view of closure. However, it rejects the ways these ideas have been developed. Furthermore, it criticizes the theory of social closure for being limited to analysing processes of exclusion and monopolization and for subsuming processes of exploitation under the idea of exclusion. The chapter argues for a new framework and perspective on theorizing social closure, incorporating missing concepts such as group action, life chances / chances of survival, opportunity structures, and an elaborated concept of power.
Discussion
Authors: Mackert Jürgen
Published: October 2024

This chapter draws conclusions from the discussion of the new concepts that are necessary for a new approach to social closure. To overcome the inadequate and misleading approach of methodological individualism to closure theory and analysis, it argues in favour of methodological relationalism for social closure, which includes putting the new concepts in this perspective. A new understanding and conceptualization of social closure is only possible if the concepts of group action and acting in solidarity, power, and life chances / chances of survival are introduced into such a new theorizing of social closure. Without them, closure theory remains in an unsatisfying state. By considering these concepts, a fundamentally new approach to social closure becomes possible.
Reorganizing Relations of Social Closure
Authors: Mackert Jürgen
Published: October 2024

The chapter, as a third step of a new theorizing of social closure, presents the critical elements of an explanation of closure in a relational perspective, which are the two basic mechanisms of social closure. First is the mechanism of denial of access, which operates by preventing human beings from making use of resources, rights, or networks/institutions. The second, called intervention into community closure, must also be considered in closure theory. This mechanism describes how the more powerful side controls the weaker side, making it hard or even impossible for them to close their communities and develop a collective political identity that would allow them to act in solidarity in closure struggles.
Joint Flourishing
Authors: Fuerstein Michael
Published: October 2024

From a Deweyan standpoint, the ideal of democracy can be understood in terms of “joint flourishing”: all flourish as a consequence of an intentional, ongoing, reciprocal adjustment of objectives. On first glance, this seems too demanding for large, pluralistic societies. It becomes more plausible, however, when treated as a regulative ideal. Accordingly, democratic social progress involves incremental improvements in joint flourishing. It does not assume the possibility of complete consensus or communal harmony. Two features of the Deweyan approach stand out. First, progress is socially contingent, varying with the distinctive desires and historical circumstances of different moral communities. Second, progress depends on transformations of social emotion, identity, and habit.
Falling Short
Authors: Fuerstein Michael
Published: October 2024

This chapter argues that democratic social progress is bounded in some cases by fundamental tensions among the values that animate the need for change. The historical examples of school desegregation and women’s integration into the workplace are developed as case studies which illustrate this point. In each case there are competing but reasonable sets of desires that pull toward different kinds of remedies. The disappointments of social policy in both cases illustrate that there is as yet no clear path to a satisfactory reconciliation of these underlying desires. Progress is still possible through measures that reduce dissatisfaction. But value pluralism explains why moral consensus is not always a companion of progress or its proper measure.
Truth, Progress, and the Will of the People
Authors: Fuerstein Michael
Published: October 2024

This chapter shows how the role of democracy in social progress can be reconciled with popular autonomy. It has often been thought that democracies determine their own moral requirements through the “will of the people,” expressed through the democratic process. But if the expressed popular will is always right, it’s hard to make sense of progress through “moral inquiry,” which seems to presuppose a standard of moral truth that stands outside of the democratic process. These two ideas can be reconciled by abandoning the idea that moral truth is a fixed standard to “track” in favor of the idea that it is constructed through the reflective modification of desires. This approach, in turn, helps us to understand how moral progress is compatible with the rampant moral disagreement observed in democratic societies.
Causal Inquiry in International Relations
Authors: Humphreys Adam R. C. , Suganami Hidemi
Published: October 2024

Causal Inquiry in International Relations defends a new, philosophically informed account of the principles which must underpin any causal research in a discipline such as International Relations. Its central claim is that there is an underlying logic to all causal inquiry, at the core of which is the search for empirical evidence capable of ruling out competing accounts of how specific events were brought about. Although this crucial fact is obscured by the ‘culture of generalization’ which predominates in contemporary social science, all causal knowledge ultimately depends on the provision of empirical support for concrete claims about specific events, located in space and time. Causal Inquiry in International Relations not only explores existing philosophical debates around causation; it also provides a detailed study of some of the most fundamental methodological questions which arise in the course of causal inquiry. Using examples drawn from philosophy and from the study of international relations, it demonstrates what is problematic about established ways of thinking, brings new clarity to both philosophical and methodological questions, and seeks to enhance collective understanding of the contribution that causal inquiry can make to empirically rich and critically aware scholarship about world politics. It concludes by situating ‘causal inquiry’ in relation to other forms of inquiry employed in the study of world politics, emphasizing especially the often unnoticed dependence of causal inquiry on precisely the kind of knowledge of specific events which historians are well placed to provide.
Absolutism, bureaucracy, and eighteenth-century fiscal-military states
Authors: Page Edward C.
Published: October 2024

The eighteenth century is interesting because it appears to be the time when many of the features of modern bureaucracy became especially apparent. The linkage between early modern ‘absolutism’ and bureaucracy occupies a prominent place in many historical accounts of state development, as terms used to describe the government of the period, above all ‘absolutism’ and the ‘fiscal-military state’, suggest an enhanced ability of national/central authorities to control it. While the eighteenth century shows a marked elaboration of features of bureaucratism over the fifteenth, such changes cannot be attributed entirely to state action, still less to the fiscal-military state. Moreover, the ability that administrative changes gave monarchs and other sources of system-wide authority to direct government is easily exaggerated.
Constitutional officialdom
Authors: Page Edward C.
Published: October 2024

The massive changes in the character of bureaucracy after the 1950s over the eighteenth century include the expansion of service officialdom and increasingly systematic elaboration of institutional structures of administration, above all the development of ministerial organizations. In particular, changes in the character of law as an instrument of public policy created a significantly new role for officials in ministries, under the legitimized political leadership, in shaping policies. When we consider the constitutional state after the nineteenth century, the limitations of Weber’s account become even more apparent as constitutionalism is less concerned with establishing a monocratic from of control than setting out limitations on the powers of different component parts of the political and administrative system.
Adjournments
Authors: Dalton Bartholomew , Liggins Caroline
Published: October 2024

This chapter cites CPD VI Trial 24C that deals with trial adjournments in magistrates’ courts. The directions restate procedural principles established in a long line of judgments of the senior courts and supersede those judgments. Courts are entitled to expect the parties to prepare for the trial to proceed on the date arranged and to expect communication between the parties and with the court regarding any issues which are likely to affect the effectiveness of any trial. The chapter reviews section 10 of the Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980, which confers a discretionary power to adjourn. It should rarely be the case that an application to adjourn based on a failure to serve evidence is made on the day of trial.
Binding Rulings
Authors: Dalton Bartholomew , Liggins Caroline
Published: October 2024

This chapter cites section 8A MCA 1980 that deals with pre-trial rulings and section 8B that allows a magistrates’ court to make or vary binding rulings. A magistrates’ court may make a ruling as to any matter mentioned in subsection at a pre-trial hearing. References to the prosecutor are to any person acting as prosecutor, whether an individual or body. The chapter reviews the ruling under section 8A that has binding effect from the time it is made until the case against the accused or, if there is more than one, against each of them. Where the court acts of its own motion to vary a previous ruling, the grounds for discharge or variation are simply the interests of justice.
Custody Time Limits
Authors: Dalton Bartholomew , Liggins Caroline
Published: October 2024

This chapter cites section 22 of the Prosecution of Offence Act 1985, which provides that the appropriate court may extend or further extend a time limit. Defendants who abscond from prison or who have been released on bail following expiry of a custody time limit do not enjoy the protections offered by custody time limits. If a person is granted bail and is later remanded into custody, the earlier period on remand will count towards the custody time limit. The chapter explains the custody time limits that start at the end of the first day of remand and expire at midnight on the last day. A time limit expiring on one of the following days will be treated as having expired on the next preceding day that is not a Saturday, a Sunday, Christmas Day, Good Friday, or a bank holiday.
Disclosure
Authors: Dalton Bartholomew , Liggins Caroline
Published: October 2024

This chapter outlines the stages of disclosure: initial disclosure of the prosecution case, common law disclosure, disclosure in relation to unused material, and consideration given to third party disclosure. Part 8 of the Criminal Procedure Rules (Crim PR) requires that initial disclosure should be available no later than the start of the day of the first hearing. Criminal Practice Direction 2015 EWCA Crim 1567 directions 3A4 and 3A12 require sufficient information to enable the defendant to make an informed decision on plea and for the court to decide whether the case is suitable for summary trial. The chapter describes the prosecution that are under a duty to serve only a summary of their case, not the case in its entirety. There is a common law duty to disclose material which may assist the defence at bail hearings or in the early preparation of their case or in mitigation.
Submission of No Case
Authors: Dalton Bartholomew , Liggins Caroline
Published: October 2024

This chapter explains how a magistrates’ court can dismiss a case. In R v Galbraith (1981) 73 Cr App R 124, it was said the court could stop the case if there is no evidence that the crime alleged has been committed by the defendant. Where the judge comes to the conclusion that the prosecution evidence is such that a jury properly directed could not properly convict upon it, it is his duty to stop the case. If there is evidence upon which a jury could properly come to the conclusion that the defendant is guilty, the judge should allow the matter to be tried by the jury.
Jurisdiction of the Adult Magistrates’ Court over Children
Authors: Dalton Bartholomew , Liggins Caroline
Published: October 2024

This chapter provides an overview of the jurisdiction of the adult magistrates' court over children. It correlates the jurisdictions in line with several provisions, such as those under the Children and Young Persons Act 1933. The adult court may deal with the young person only to decide on a remand. Moreover, a child or young person must appear before the adult court if jointly charged with an adult. The chapter explains the remittal of cases to the youth court when not sent to the Crown Court, sentenced within the limited powers of the adult court, or listed for trial with an adult.
Managing the Case
Authors: Dalton Bartholomew , Liggins Caroline
Published: October 2024

This chapter elaborates on the management of cases when the child is jointly charged with an adult. If the adult faces an indictable-only offence he must be sent to the Crown Court before dealing with the procedure. The court must proceed to plea before venue if the case could be sent or take a plea if it is a summary-only offence, which applies even when appearing jointly with an adult. The chapter explains how the court should proceed to sentence if the court's powers are sufficient or remit to the youth court if a guilty plea is indicated. It expounds on the definitive guideline on sentencing children and young people if a child is jointly charged with an adult who was sent to the Crown Court.
Administration of Justice
Authors: Dalton Bartholomew , Liggins Caroline
Published: October 2024

This chapter examines offences relevant to the administration of justice. It elaborates on the provisions under the Bail Act 1976. If a person who has been released on bail in criminal proceedings fails without reasonable cause to surrender to custody, they will be guilty of an offence. Meanwhile, at common law, escaping from legal custody and tending to pervert the course of public justice are considered to be an offence. The chapter also sets out that section 51 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 relates to witness intimidation.
Prison Offences
Authors: Dalton Bartholomew , Liggins Caroline
Published: October 2024

This chapter provides an overview of the notion of prison offences. According to the Prison Act 1952’s section 40CA, a person may be deemed guilty if they have an unauthorized possession of a knife or offensive weapon in prison. Meanwhile, section 40CB is involved with throwing any article or substance into prison. The chapter considers other offences relating to prison security under section 40D of the Prison Act 1952, which includes the authorization to take photographs and transmit any information from inside the prison.
Community Orders
Authors: Dalton Bartholomew , Liggins Caroline
Published: October 2024

This chapter begins by detailing the provision on community orders under sections 204 and 208 of the Sentencing Act (SA) 2020. The Sentencing Council’s definitive guideline on the imposition of community and custodial sentences provides that sentencers must consider all available disposals at the time of sentence. The guideline also provides that the seriousness of the offence should be the initial factor in determining which requirements to include in a community order. When imposing requirements on the offender as part of the community order, a court should balance the requirements, or combination of requirements, with the offender’s personal circumstances, and avoid conflict with work, schooling, or religious beliefs. The chapter then looks at community orders made after a remand in custody or on a qualifying curfew, before considering breaches of a community and the position in relation to offences committed whilst subject to a community order.
Deferment of Sentence
Authors: Dalton Bartholomew , Liggins Caroline
Published: October 2024

This chapter explains the provisions on the deferment of sentence. The magistrates’ court can defer sentence, on one occasion, for a maximum period of six months, to enable the court to assess the offender’s capacity to change or carry out reparation to the victim. Such cases are simply adjourned, not on bail, so that there can be no question of a Bail Act offence. A warrant can be issued if the offender fails to attend for sentence. If the offender reoffends before the period of deferment has expired, they may be dealt with for the deferred matter. A court may impose any conditions during the period of deferment that it considers appropriate. These could be specific requirements as set out in the provisions for community sentences, or requirements that are drawn more widely. The requirements may include restorative justice requirements.
Deprivation Order
Authors: Dalton Bartholomew , Liggins Caroline
Published: October 2024

This chapter reviews the provision on deprivation orders under sections 153–155 of the Sentencing Act 2020. Orders of this kind should not be made without warning the defendant in advance and inviting representations, otherwise they are liable to be quashed on appeal. The court should not proceed without first ascertaining the value of the property, and should also ensure that an order made against just one offender does not result in an overly disproportionate sentence. Such an order will be invalid if the financial consequences and the value of the property have not been considered. Ultimately, the power can be used to deprive the defendant of their interest in property intended to be used for any offence, not just the particular offence before the court.
Discharges: Conditional and Absolute
Authors: Dalton Bartholomew , Liggins Caroline
Published: October 2024

This chapter examines absolute and conditional discharges. A discharge can be imposed, under sections 79 and 80 of the Sentencing Act (SA) 2020, where it is inexpedient to inflict punishment having regard to the circumstances. These circumstances include the nature of the offence and the character of the offender. Where a person who has received a youth caution or a youth conditional caution is convicted of an offence committed within two years of the caution, the court by or before which they are so convicted shall not impose a conditional discharge in respect of the offence unless it is of the opinion that there are exceptional circumstances relating to the offence or the offender which justify its doing so; and where it does so, shall state in open court that it is of that opinion and why it is. Meanwhile, under Schedule 2 of SA 2020, a person who commits an offence during the life of a conditional discharge may be re-sentenced for that original offence even if the period of discharge has expired at the date of sentence.
Discounts for Early Plea
Authors: Dalton Bartholomew , Liggins Caroline
Published: October 2024

This chapter evaluates the provisions on discounts for early plea, including the relevant case law. A court must discount a sentence in return for a guilty plea. A magistrates’ court may impose a maximum sentence as an alternative to committing the case for sentence to the Crown Court. A full discount must be given even if the prosecution case is overwhelming. The amount of discount will depend upon the timing of the plea. A one-third reduction is only available, subject to exceptions, when a guilty plea is indicated at the first hearing whether the case proceeds in the magistrates’ or Crown Court. Thereafter the maximum is one-quarter, reducing to 10 per cent if the plea is entered at the time of trial. The discount is separate from any other reduction, which should be taken into account before the discount for guilty plea is applied. The chapter then looks at the determination of the level of sentence reduction, its application, and exceptions.
Disqualification from Driving
Authors: Dalton Bartholomew , Liggins Caroline
Published: October 2024

This chapter details the provision on disqualification from driving. Disqualification may arise in one of five ways: (1) offence carrying obligatory disqualification; (2) offence carrying discretionary disqualification; (3) as a result of accumulating 12 or more penalty points; (4) as a result of conviction for any offence, or an offence where a vehicle was used for crime; or (5) as a result of a ‘new driver’ accumulating six penalty points. Where disqualification is imposed, the licence should be endorsed, but not with any penalty points in respect of that offence or other offences perpetrated on the same occasion. The normal practice is to impose no separate penalty on the related crimes, but disqualify alone on the main crime. Section 39 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act (RTOA) 1988 allows for applications to suspend a disqualification pending appeal. The chapter also considers interim disqualification and disqualification with an immediate custodial sentence.
Mental Health Disposals
Authors: Dalton Bartholomew , Liggins Caroline
Published: October 2024

This chapter explores the provision of mental health disposals. The Sentencing Council has issued a guideline on sentencing offenders with mental disorders, developmental disorders, or neurological impairments. The fact that an offender has an impairment or disorder should always be considered by the court but will not necessarily have an impact on sentencing. Culpability may be reduced if an offender was at the time of the offence suffering from an impairment or disorder. The chapter then looks at the provision on guardianship and hospital orders under section 37 of the Mental Health Act 2983. It also considers the power of the magistrates’ court, under section 35 of the Mental Health Act 1983, to remand an accused person to a hospital for a report on their mental condition. Finally, the chapter describes the power of the magistrates’ court to commit for restriction order under section 43 of the Mental Health Act 1983.
Restraining Order
Authors: Dalton Bartholomew , Liggins Caroline
Published: October 2024

This chapter sets out the provisions in relation to restraining orders. Under the Sentencing Act (SA) 2020, a court may impose a restraining order following conviction and under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, on acquittal. When a prosecutor seeks a restraining order, Criminal Procedure Rules Part 31.3 requires that the prosecutor must serve a draft order on the court officer and on the defendant as soon as practicable (without waiting for the verdict). The draft order must specify those prohibitions which, if the defendant is convicted, the prosecutor proposes for the purpose of protecting a person from conduct which amounts to harassment or will cause fear of violence, or those prohibitions which, if the defendant is acquitted, the prosecutor proposes as necessary to protect a person from harassment by the defendant. A restraining order cannot be made against someone who has been found unfit to plead as that finding is neither a conviction nor an acquittal.
Explanatory Pluralism in Normative Ethics
Authors: Väyrynen Pekka
Published: October 2024

Some theorists of normative explanation argue that we can make sense of debates between first-order moral theories such as consequentialism and its rivals only if we understand their explanations of why the right acts are right and the wrong acts are wrong as generative grounding explanations. Others argue that the standard form of normative explanation is, instead, some kind of unification. Neither sort of explanatory monism can account for all the explanations of particular moral facts that moral theorists state and defend. This chapter argues that we can do better if we accept normative explanatory pluralism, the view that at least some particular moral facts have more than one type of correct complete explanation. Such pluralism is supported by what goes on in actual moral inquiry, parallels an independently plausible form of pluralism about scientific explanation, and can offer principled responses to central objections.
Immunogenicity to herpes zoster recombinant subunit vaccine in immune-mediated rheumatic patients under treatment with JAK inhibitors
Authors: Sieiro Santos Cristiana , Herrero Juan Garcia , Ordas Martínez Jose , Álvarez Castro Carolina , López Robles Alejandra , Colindres Ronald , Martín Estefanía Robles , Sahagun Ana M , Ruiz de Morales Jose G
Published: October 2024

Objectives

Patients with immune-mediated rheumatic diseases (IMRDs) face an elevated risk of varicella-zoster virus infection (VZV) and herpes zoster (HZ). Treatment with immunosuppressors further increases the risk. A new recently approved adjuvant recombinant inactive vaccine offers safe protection against HZ. However, limited data exist on the efficacy of this new vaccine in patients with IMRDs treated with JAK inhibitors (JAK-i). We aimed to characterize B- and T-cell immune responses elicited by the HZ recombinant subunit vaccine in patients with IMRDs under treatment with JAK-i, and to identify factors that might be associated with reduced immunogenicity, and therefore reduced protection.

Methods

We investigated humoral and cellular CD4 and CD8 immune responses following a two-dose regimen of the recombinant inactive vaccine in 43 patients with rheumatic diseases treated with different JAK-i. The responses were compared with age, gender and disease-matched healthy controls.

Results

Patients with IMRDs treated with JAK-i showed reduced seroconversion rate (63% vs. 100% and lower VZV IgG titres (1222 ± 411 vs. 3048 ± 556, P < 0.0001) as compared with healthy controls. Functional T CD4 (IL-2 plus IFN-γ secretion) and T CD8 (granzyme A and/or granzyme B secretion) immune responses were also significantly diminished in IMRD patients. Negative correlation was found between VZV antibody titres and age, specific treatments (baricitinib, tofacitinib, upadacitinib), cumulative MTX and glucocorticoid doses, history of multiple DMARDs and treatment duration with JAK-i. Functional T-CD4 responses but not functional T-CD8 responses also showed similar negative correlations. Positive associations were observed between functional T-CD4 and T-CD8 responses.

Conclusions

Our study provides valuable insights into the immune responses elicited by the recombinant inactive vaccine in patients with IMRDs treated with JAK-i. In these patients we have observed a broad impact on the adaptive humoral and cellular immune responses, suggesting a potential reduction in protection against HZ infection and VZV reactivation.
The place of JAK inhibitors in systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis with lung disease: French experience
Authors: Côte Gaëlle , Quartier Pierre , Belot Alexandre , Melki Isabelle , Hentgen Véronique , Merlin Etienne
Published: October 2024

Objectives

A new form of systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (SJIA) with associated lung disease (SJIA-LD) has recently been described. Multiple lines of treatment have failed to yield satisfactory results for this disorder. Janus kinase inhibitors (JAKis) have recently been approved for the treatment of JIA, but clinical evidence of their efficacy in SJIA-LD is still weak. Here we describe and assess real-life experience of SJIA-LD treatment with JAKis in France.

Methods

This is a retrospective study based on information gathered from patients’ medical records. Systemic and pulmonary symptoms and biological data including CRP, ferritin, IL-18, chest CT scan and functional respiratory tests were collected.

Results

Eight patients with SJIA-LD were identified in French paediatric rheumatology centres. All received at least one JAKi (baricitinib, ruxolitinib and/or tofacitinib). Complete disease control was obtained in four patients. Steroids were tapered in four patients and stopped in two. Three patients presented an episode of macrophage activation syndrome (MAS) shortly after anti-IL-1s were stopped when JAKis were introduced. Two patients had other serious side effects (viral reactivation—EBV, BK virus, cytopenia). At last follow-up, one patient had died from severe MAS, two patients had undergone haematopoietic stem cell transplantation, four were in complete response (two of them free of steroids), and one in partial response with JAKis. Lung response to JAKi was not clearly linked to disease duration.

Conclusion

JAKis offer another therapeutic option for patients with SJIA-LD. However, the risk of MAS argues for caution about stopping anti-IL-1s when introducing JAKis. Tolerance needs careful monitoring in larger studies..