New psychoactive substances in England: a review of the evidence.

Aims and approach: This report builds on chapter 2 of the report of the expert panel review, and provides an overview of the current available evidence on New Psychoactive Substances (NPS)1. Conclusion: • NPS is a new and developing area of study. Many innovative methodologies are being used and conventions surrounding how best to research NPS are still being established. • There is good evidence on the identification of new NPS, and evidence on the use of NPS is also well established, albeit with some limitations. • However, there are gaps in the evidence on: • the prevalence of use of NPS, and a total measure of NPS use; • the use of NPS among subgroups other than NTE participants; • the long-term health harms of NPS use; • acute health harms of NPS use; • the extent to which NPS use drives social harms; • the impact and effectiveness of legislation; • the motivations for the use of NPS other than mephedrone; • the exact factors and mechanisms that affect displacement and supplementation; and • the extent to which individuals within social groups purchase online and then distribute within their social group. This review has had a significant legislative focus. We also recognise the importance of continuing to focus on our wider, balanced approach to ensure that we invest in all strands of our Drug Strategy. This is why we asked the Panel to also consider our wider approach to prevention, treatment and information sharing

Spring production of Calanus finmarchicus at the Iceland-Scotland Ridge

Distribution and reproduction activity of the calanoid copepod Calanus finmarchicus were studied in the waters between Scotland and Iceland in April 1997 during the expected time of the animals' ascent to surface waters following diapause. Ascent was taking place on both sides of the Iceland-Scotland Ridge, apparently from two separate overwintering centers. The population on the Faroe Shelf (FS) most likely came from the overwintering population in the Faroe Shetland Channel (FSC). Per capita egg production was highest on the FS (> 30 eggs female -1d-1) and lowest in the Iceland Basin (10 eggs female -1d-1). The maximum clutch size recorded was on the FS (145 eggs). As the maximum clutch sizes that females produced were between 40% and 77% (area averages of the station maximum rates) of their size-specific reproduction potential, it is argued that egg production rates were generally food-limited. Chlorophyll a concentrations were, at all but one station, under 1 ugL-1. Chlorophyll-based ingestion could, theoretically, support the observed average egg production rates in the Iceland Basin and on the FS but only about 30% of the observed production at the stations in the East Icelandic Current (EIC). The carbon assimilated through ingestion of phytoplankton, Calanus own eggs andnauplii in the EIC was estimated to be too low to support the frequently observed production of clutches consisting of over 100 eggs. Cannibalism on eggs and nauplii was not likely to have constituted a significant component of dietary carbon intake. However, a combination of feeding and assimilation of reserved lipid remaining from overwintering could be sufficient to explain the observed per capita egg production rates. C. finmarchicus copepod stages 1-3 were only recorded in considerable numbers only on the FS. This suggests higher survival rates of eggs in the shelf waters

Executive Summary: Evaluation of the MacArthur Foundation's Human Rights and International Justice Grantmaking in Nigeria 2000-2012

The MacArthur Foundation commissioned Itad to conduct an evaluation of the Foundation's Human Rights and International Justice (HRIJ) grant?making program in Nigeria between 2000 and 2012. During this period, the Foundation supported 102 HRIJ projects with an end?date in 2000 or later, for a total grant amount of US$23,945,010. The projects broadly fell within the following thematic categories:- Accountability of democratic institutions, including the police- Justice: legal and judicial reform, including international justice standards - Protection and promotion of human rightsThe evaluation was commissioned to seek answers to the following questions: - Approach and strategy: o What has changed in the wider Nigerian HRIJ landscape in Nigeria since 2000? o What was the Foundation's HRIJ grantmaking strategy in Nigeria over this time? o How has the Foundation responded to change in the wider environment? o How has the implementation of grants contributed to strategic aims? - Impact: o What have been the main results of the Foundation's investments? o What was the Foundation's primary contribution to Nigeria HRIJ issues? o What lessons can be drawn for future HRIJ grantmaking in Nigeria

Ransomware and reputation

open access articleRansomware is a particular form of cyber-attack in which a victim loses access to either his electronic device or files unless he pays a ransom to criminals. A criminal’s ability to make money from ransomware critically depends on victims believing that the criminal will honour ransom payments. In this paper we explore the extent to which a criminal can build trust through reputation. We demonstrate that there are situations in which it is optimal for the criminal to always return the files and situations in which it is not. We argue that the ability to build reputation will depend on how victims distinguish between different ransomware strands. If ransomware is to survive as a long term revenue source for criminals then they need to find ways of building a good reputation

Paclitaxel-Induced Apoptosis Is BAK-Dependent, but BAX and BIM-Independent in Breast Tumor

Paclitaxel (Taxol)-induced cell death requires the intrinsic cell death pathway, but the specific participants and the precise mechanisms are poorly understood. Previous studies indicate that a BH3-only protein BIM (BCL-2 Interacting Mediator of cell death) plays a role in paclitaxel-induced apoptosis. We show here that BIM is dispensable in apoptosis with paclitaxel treatment using bim−/− MEFs (mouse embryonic fibroblasts), the bim−/− mouse breast tumor model, and shRNA-mediated down-regulation of BIM in human breast cancer cells. In contrast, both bak−/− MEFs and human breast cancer cells in which BAK was down-regulated by shRNA were more resistant to paclitaxel. However, paclitaxel sensitivity was not affected in bax−/−MEFs or in human breast cancer cells in which BAX was down-regulated, suggesting that paclitaxel-induced apoptosis is BAK-dependent, but BAX-independent. In human breast cancer cells, paclitaxel treatment resulted in MCL-1 degradation which was prevented by a proteasome inhibitor, MG132. A Cdk inhibitor, roscovitine, blocked paclitaxel-induced MCL-1 degradation and apoptosis, suggesting that Cdk activation at mitotic arrest could induce subsequent MCL-1 degradation in a proteasome-dependent manner. BAK was associated with MCL-1 in untreated cells and became activated in concert with loss of MCL-1 expression and its release from the complex. Our data suggest that BAK is the mediator of paclitaxel-induced apoptosis and could be an alternative target for overcoming paclitaxel resistance

Joint care can outweigh costs of nonkin competition in communal breeders

Competition between offspring can greatly influence offspring fitness and parental investment decisions, especially in communal breeders where unrelated competitors have less incentive to concede resources. Given the potential for escalated conflict, it remains unclear what mechanisms facilitate the evolution of communal breeding among unrelated females. Resolving this question requires simultaneous consideration of offspring in noncommunal and communal nurseries, but such comparisons are missing. In the Seychelles warbler Acrocephalus sechellensis, we compare nestling pairs from communal nests (2 mothers) and noncommunal nests (1 mother) with singleton nestlings. Our results indicate that increased provisioning rate can act as a mechanism to mitigate the costs of offspring rivalry among nonkin. Increased provisioning in communal broods, as a consequence of having 2 female parents, mitigates any elevated costs of offspring rivalry among nonkin: per-capita provisioning and survival was equal in communal broods and singletons, but lower in noncommunal broods. Individual offspring costs were also more divergent in noncommunal broods, likely because resource limitation exacerbates differences in competitive ability between nestlings. It is typically assumed that offspring rivalry among nonkin will be more costly because offspring are not driven by kin selection to concede resources to their competitors. Our findings are correlational and require further corroboration, but may help explain the evolutionary maintenance of communal breeding by providing a mechanism by which communal breeders can avoid these costs

A Long Strange Trip through the Evolution of Fan Production, Fan-Branding, and Historical Representation in the Grateful Dead Online Archive

This study explores how a digital music archive tells the story and contributes to the public memory of cult bands. Utilizing the Grateful Dead Archive Online (GDAO) as the primary data source, the researcher obtained a population of 26,835 items and categorized them by the production method of fan or band, item type, era, and logo. Content analysis illustrated themes within the archive in relation to the fannish production and activity within the fandom of the Grateful Dead. The span of this specific fandom spreads across five decades and sheds light onto the ways in which the fandom surrounding cult bands has evolved due to emergent technologies in the digital era. Specifically, the findings of this study demonstrate that the era totals within the archive do not correspond with the band\u27s popularity due to a significant increase of items representing the 1980s with a total of 10,653 items and the 1990s with a total of 12,775 items. These high numbers result from the band\u27s mainstream impact and a eulogizing function for Jerry Garcia in 1995. The impact co-branding had on this iconic brand through the diversity in fan-branding and logo utilization further blurs the lines between producers and consumers in the Grateful Dead fan community. Findings also demonstrated the implications of what history chooses to remember through the archiving process that can be attributed to what Williams (1961) refers to as retro culture in the digital era. This study further illustrates the gaps within the archival history of the Grateful Dead due to the selection process involved in digital archiving. Finally, this study demonstrates the ways in which fandom is constantly in flux between the public and private spheres and how the implementation of an official online archive further blurs these distinctions. The archiving contained within the Grateful Dead Archive Online preserves history for future generations and provides a definitive account of the band and its surrounding fandom. The archive will be all that is left once the original band members and Deadheads are no longer with us. The legacy of this cultural phenomenon is formed and preserved by the archive and will be taken as the official history, despite any gaps that are left in the collection. This study contributes to the field of communication by dissecting the radical public relations and branding strategies that were employed by the Grateful Dead and how the fan community personalized this brand and made it their own. Additionally, this study maps the evolution of fandom in eras of emergent technological advances and it interrogates the ways in which history is preserved and communicated to future scholars and fans

First spectroscopic measurements of [OIII] emission from Lyman-alpha selected field galaxies at z ~ 3.1

We present the first spectroscopic measurements of the [OIII] 5007 A line in two z ~ 3.1 Lyman-alpha emitting galaxies (LAEs) using the new near-infrared instrument LUCIFER1 on the 8.4m Large Binocular Telescope (LBT). We also describe the optical imaging and spectroscopic observations used to identify these Lya emitting galaxies. Using the [OIII] line we have measured accurate systemic redshifts for these two galaxies, and discovered a velocity offset between the [OIII] and Ly-alpha lines in both, with the Lya line peaking 342 and 125 km/s redward of the systemic velocity. These velocity offsets imply that there are powerful outflows in high-redshift LAEs. They also ease the transmission of Lya photons through the interstellar medium and intergalactic medium around the galaxies. By measuring these offsets directly, we can refine both Lya-based tests for reionization, and Lya luminosity function measurements where the Lya forest affects the blue wing of the line. Our work also provides the first direct constraints on the strength of the [OIII] line in high-redshift LAEs. We find [OIII] fluxes of 7 and 36 x 10^-17 erg s^-1 cm^-2 in two z ~ 3.1 LAEs. These lines are strong enough to dominate broad-band flux measurements that include the line (in thiscase, K_s band photometry). Spectral energy distribution fits that do not account for the lines would therefore overestimate the 4000 A (and/or Balmer) break strength in such galaxies, and hence also the ages and stellar masses of such high-z galaxies.Comment: Accepted by the Astrophysical Journal. 11 pages, 3 figures, 1 table (emulateapj