Balancing fairness to victims, society and defendants in the cross-examination of vulnerable witnesses: an impossible triangulation?

This article argues that direct cross-examination of vulnerable witnesses should be removed from Australian trials, to reduce any illegitimate advantage to the defendant. Abstract Cross-examination is fundamental to the adversarial criminal trial. However, when children and witnesses with an intellectual disability are cross-examined, it can lead to unreliable evidence and further trauma to the victim. Various reforms in Australian jurisdictions, England and elsewhere have had only limited practical effect as they fail to address the underlying problems that arise from the adversarial system itself. While any changes must maintain a defendant’s vital right to a fair trial, the current criminal trial may allow defendants an illegitimate advantage. Fairness to the defendant, victim and society can and must be balanced. In order to reduce any illegitimate advantage, direct cross-examination should be removed. Instead, cross-examination should be conducted in advance of trial by a suitable third party and video-recorded. A similar process is used in Norway. A wholesale transformation into an inquisitorial system is not required for the benefits of non-adversarial examination to be achieved

Subsurface biodegradation of crude oil in a fractured basement reservoir, Shropshire, UK

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

On the noise immunity and legibility of Lucida fonts

Modern digital typography often has to contend with output devices such as workstation screens and laser-printers which have a much lower resolution than metal type or phototypesetter machines. In this paper we present results of some legibility investigations in which volunteers were asked to read laser-printed and photocopied material produced in three different typefaces. Two of these faces were not designed with adverse imaging conditions in mind but the third, Lucida, had as one of its design aims that it should be robust and readable at low resolutions. Evidence is presented for Lucida’s enhanced legibility in noisy conditions when compared to the other two faces. However, the difficulties of devising suitable tests and the subjective nature of much of the evidence are also discussed

On the noise immunity and legibility of Lucida fonts

Modern digital typography often has to contend with output devices such as workstation screens and laser-printers which have a much lower resolution than metal type or phototypesetter machines. In this paper we present results of some legibility investigations in which volunteers were asked to read laser-printed and photocopied material produced in three different typefaces. Two of these faces were not designed with adverse imaging conditions in mind but the third, Lucida, had as one of its design aims that it should be robust and readable at low resolutions. Evidence is presented for Lucida’s enhanced legibility in noisy conditions when compared to the other two faces. However, the difficulties of devising suitable tests and the subjective nature of much of the evidence are also discussed

Structural Assembly Demonstration Experiment (SADE)

The purpose of the Structural Assembly Demonstration Experiment (SADE) was to create a near-term Shuttle flight experiment focusing on the deployment and erection of structural truss elements. The activities of the MIT Space Systems Laboratory consist of three major areas: preparing and conducting neutral buoyancy simulation test series; producing a formal SADE Experiment plan; and studying the structural dynamics issues of the truss structure. Each of these areas is summarized

The deposition of metal nanoparticles on carbon surfaces: the role of specific functional groups

The enormous complexity of a typical heterogeneous catalyst makes understanding the development and properties of any active nanoparticles present extremely challenging. In the case of carbon based catalysts that difficulty is compounded by the variability of the carbon powders used. We have previously developed a strategy that addresses these problems by mimicking the catalyst preparation conditions very closely but using highly ordered pyrolytic graphite crystals (HOPG) as a model surface. This enables us to examine the effects of specific functional groups on nanoparticle formation. We report here an extension of our work characterising functional groups on the HOPG surface, using XPS and AFM to explore the deposition of gold from aqueous solution onto HOPG surfaces treated in a variety of ways to alter the surface functionality. The structure and oxidation state of the resulting nanoparticles depend critically on the nature of the functional groups present and offers some insight into the development of catalysts based on these materials. Hydroxyls are identified as key functional species, reducing gold ions to their metallic state whilst being oxidised themselves to carbonyls. Carbonyls meanwhile promote the nucleation of Au3+, creating a network of islands at the HOPG surface. The results have relevance not only to catalysts using activated carbons but also the new generation of materials based on graphene and carbon nanotubes

TOP2A and EZH2 Provide Early Detection of an Aggressive Prostate Cancer Subgroup.

Purpose: Current clinical parameters do not stratify indolent from aggressive prostate cancer. Aggressive prostate cancer, defined by the progression from localized disease to metastasis, is responsible for the majority of prostate cancer–associated mortality. Recent gene expression profiling has proven successful in predicting the outcome of prostate cancer patients; however, they have yet to provide targeted therapy approaches that could inhibit a patient\u27s progression to metastatic disease. Experimental Design: We have interrogated a total of seven primary prostate cancer cohorts (n = 1,900), two metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer datasets (n = 293), and one prospective cohort (n = 1,385) to assess the impact of TOP2A and EZH2 expression on prostate cancer cellular program and patient outcomes. We also performed IHC staining for TOP2A and EZH2 in a cohort of primary prostate cancer patients (n = 89) with known outcome. Finally, we explored the therapeutic potential of a combination therapy targeting both TOP2A and EZH2 using novel prostate cancer–derived murine cell lines. Results: We demonstrate by genome-wide analysis of independent primary and metastatic prostate cancer datasets that concurrent TOP2A and EZH2 mRNA and protein upregulation selected for a subgroup of primary and metastatic patients with more aggressive disease and notable overlap of genes involved in mitotic regulation. Importantly, TOP2A and EZH2 in prostate cancer cells act as key driving oncogenes, a fact highlighted by sensitivity to combination-targeted therapy. Conclusions: Overall, our data support further assessment of TOP2A and EZH2 as biomarkers for early identification of patients with increased metastatic potential that may benefit from adjuvant or neoadjuvant targeted therapy approaches. ©2017 AACR

MinION Analysis and Reference Consortium: Phase 1 data release and analysis

The advent of a miniaturized DNA sequencing device with a high-throughput contextual sequencing capability embodies the next generation of large scale sequencing tools. The MinION™ Access Programme (MAP) was initiated by Oxford Nanopore Technologies™ in April 2014, giving public access to their USB-attached miniature sequencing device. The MinION Analysis and Reference Consortium (MARC) was formed by a subset of MAP participants, with the aim of evaluating and providing standard protocols and reference data to the community. Envisaged as a multi-phased project, this study provides the global community with the Phase 1 data from MARC, where the reproducibility of the performance of the MinION was evaluated at multiple sites. Five laboratories on two continents generated data using a control strain of Escherichia coli K-12, preparing and sequencing samples according to a revised ONT protocol. Here, we provide the details of the protocol used, along with a preliminary analysis of the characteristics of typical runs including the consistency, rate, volume and quality of data produced. Further analysis of the Phase 1 data presented here, and additional experiments in Phase 2 of E. coli from MARC are already underway to identify ways to improve and enhance MinION performance