Shoring Up the HEAR Act: Proposed Amendments to Federal Legislation Designed to Assist Heirs and Claimants of Nazi-Looted Art

From 1933 to 1945, Nazi German forces executed a mass campaign of property confiscation, stealing as many as 600,000 pieces of art, including paintings, tapestries and sculptures from museums and private collections across Europe. It is estimated that some 300,000 pieces of art are still missing or are currently in the possession of someone other than the so-called “true” owner, based on reviews of Nazi documentation conducted by the Jewish Restitution Organization. While Nazi art looting has been regarded as “dehumanizing,” “self-advancing” and concomitant with the Nazi regime’s larger genocidal crusade, restitution in this context has been framed as a means of rehumanization. In 2016, Congress passed the HEAR Act to “ensure that claims to artwork and other property stolen or misappropriated by the Nazis are not unfairly barred by statutes of limitations but are resolved in a just and fair manner.” The Act temporarily replaces state statutes of limitations by creating a uniform six-year statute of limitations for cases involving artwork or other property lost because of persecution during the Nazi era, but critics have pointed out that the Act may unconstitutionally preempt state property laws and may actually limit the number of claims that are timely in states that already have more claimant-friendly statutes of limitations than what the HEAR Act now offers in preemption. This Note acknowledges these arguments and responds with a slate of proposed amendments to the current language of the HEAR Act, all of which are designed to shore up the Act’s constitutionality should it be challenged in court, while ensuring that the law continues to be aligned with its original intent—to resolve these complex suits on their merits in a just and fair manner whenever possible. Specifically, this Note argues for a federal cause of action to be developed in concert with the HEAR Act that would sidestep the procedural preemption concerns. This Note further proposes that a version of New York State’s more claimant-friendly “demand and refusal” statute of limitations replace the HEAR Act’s six-year uniform statute of limitations such that it continue to preempt state statutes of limitations in this area and cement the United States as a preferred forum in which claimants can seek restitution of Nazi-confiscated art for the foreseeable future

The Evaluation of a Chemical Fingerprinting Technique for Identifying the Sources of In-stream Sediments

Sediment is often listed as one of the main contributors to the impairment of surface waters throughout the United States. Sediment source identification is difficult in watersheds with complex combinations of land-uses and non-point sources because of the complexities involved in correlating water quality data, which are relatively easy to collect, to the source of a degrading component. The elemental properties of a particular soil on the landscape may be viewed as a “fingerprint”. A comparison of the elemental fingerprints of potential sources and in-stream sediment may be used to establish sediment source. The objectives of this investigation were to characterize the elemental content of suspended stream sediment and potential sources of sediment in an impaired watershed, Pond Creek watershed in east Tennessee (HUC: TN06010201013), and to use multivariate statistical techniques to identify and quantify sediment sources in the watershed. Potential sediment source samples were collected throughout the watershed and suspended sediment samples at two locations. Subsamples of the \u3c53\u3eμm material and suspended sediment were subjected to total dissolution, HNO3-extraction, and Mehlich 3-extraction. Descriptive statistics suggested that each dataset contained considerable heterogeneity. The source samples were grouped according to land management and position in the landscape. The results of a Kruskal-Wallis rank test and discriminant function analysis indicated that for all three datasets the elemental variability of the samples was not sufficient to differentiate the source and sediment samples and characterize the suspended sediment sources using the initial group definitions. When using all available elemental data from each dataset the groups defined by cluster analysis and canonical discriminant analysis did not match the contents of the initially defined groups. The composition of the clusters varied from one dataset to another, making it difficult to draw conclusions concerning the cluster contents, or to identify sources of suspended sediment. The lack of elemental content variability for differentiating the source and sediment samples and characterizing the suspended sediment sources is likely an artifact of the watershed sampling procedure that was employed, which was directed towards sampling sources likely to be contributing to the suspended sediment load in Pond Creek

A Collisional Transfer Mechanism For Sulfur Mass Independent Fractionation In Weakly Interacting Excited Electronic States Of S₂

The Great Oxygenation Event, the introduction of O$_{2}$ into the Earth’s atmosphere approximately 2.5 billion years ago, is a critical stage in the development of life on Earth. The exact timing of this event is thought to be correlated with the disappearance of sulfur isotope anomalies, called "Sulfur Mass Independent Fractionation" (S-MIF), in the rock record. However, the mechanism for the generation of S-MIF in a reducing atmosphere is still unknown. This talk explores the B-X system of S$_{2}$ where the short-lifetime B state is extensively perturbed by a long-lifetime B” state. We employ a master equation model that calculates rotationally and electronically inelastic collisional transfer rates between the B and B” states. For weakly perturbed B/B” level crossings (matrix element less than 1 \wn), these collisional transfer processes can generate significant isotope effects, where one isotopologue has a larger enhancement of excited state population than another. We discuss the effects of mass-dependent vibrational level shifts and nuclear permutation symmetry on this isotopic fractionation, and propose a possible mechanism for the S-MIF pattern observed in the rock record

Actions and symmetries of NSR superstrings and D-strings

We present all NSR superstring and super-D-string actions invariant under a set of prescribed gauge transformations, and characterize completely their global symmetries. In particular we obtain locally supersymmetric Born-Infeld actions on general backgrounds in a formulation with extra target space dimensions. The nontrivial global symmetries of the superstring actions correspond to isometries of the background, whereas super-D-string actions can have additional symmetries acting nontrivially also on the coordinates of the extra dimensions.Comment: 4 pages, references added and errors correcte

Place-Based Evaluation for Infrastructure and Spatial Projects: An Introduction

This book brings together experts in the fields of spatial planning, landuse and infrastructure management to explore the emerging agenda of spatially-oriented integrated evaluation. It weaves together the latest theories, case studies, methods, policy and practice to examine and assess the values, impacts, benefits and the overall success in integrated land-use management. In doing so, the book clarifies the nature and roles of evaluation and puts forward guidance for future policy and practice

Practical Relevance of Knowledge Management and Intellectual Capital Scholarly Research: Books as Knowledge Translation Agents

To enhance our understanding of the relevance of knowledge management/intellectual capital (KM/IC) academic research, this study explores what sources authors utilize to develop their book content. Ten prominent KM/IC book authors were interviewed to identify if and how KM/IC academic literature is being disseminated through books. It was found that the body of knowledge existing in peer-reviewed journals is utilized in the development of book/textbook content. Books serve as knowledge translation agents through which academic literature is summarized, aggregated and transformed into the format that may be easily comprehended by non-academics. In addition to peer-reviewed journals, KM/IC book authors utilize other sources, including personal research, experts’ opinions, experience, practitioner magazines, conferences, books, and informal discussions with academics. The model, which was developed within this study, demonstrates that the book’s target audience and author’s motivation serve as a pure moderator of the relationship between the available content sources and actual book content

Possible mechanism for sulfur mass independent fractionation in the B-X UV transition of S2

Anomalous sulfur isotope ratios, called mass independent fractionation (MIF), are commonly observed in sedimentary rocks formed more than 2.5 billion years ago. These anomalies likely originated from photochemistry of small, sulfur-containing molecules in the early Earth’s atmosphere. The disappearance of MIF in rocks younger than 2.5 billion years is thought to be evidence of rising O$_{2}$ concentrations during the Great Oxygenation Event (GOE), an important milestone in the development of life on Earth. However, the photochemical origin of the pre-GOE anomaly is not well understood. Here, we use a model of the X, B, and B” states of S$_{2}$, originally developed by Western, to determine a possible mechanism for isotopologue-selective photodissociation. A model of the rotation-vibration structure of the B-X UV transition shows small perturbations between the bright B state and the dark B” state that vary depending on isotopologue. These perturbations suggest a sequential two-photon mechanism for selective photodissociation. Symmetry (e.g., 32-32 vs. 32-34) may also contribute to MIF. This presentation will primarily focus on the UV spectra of the 32-32 and 32-34 isotopologues. We also examine the possibility that a similar mechanism may be at work in the B-X transition of SO

Geometry and beta-functions for N=2 matter models in two dimensions

We study renormalizable nonlinear sigma-models in two dimensions with N=2 supersymmetry described in superspace in terms of chiral and complex linear superfields. The geometrical structure of the underlying manifold is investigated and the one-loop divergent contribution to the effective action is computed. The condition of vanishing beta-function allows to identify a class of models which satisfy this requirement and possess N=4 supersymmetry.Comment: latex file, 20 pages, no figure

Lysosomal storage, impaired autophagy and innate immunity in Gaucher and Parkinson's diseases: insights for drug discovery

Impairment of autophagic–lysosomal pathways is increasingly being implicated in Parkinson's disease (PD). GBA1 mutations cause the lysosomal storage disorder Gaucher disease (GD) and are the commonest known genetic risk factor for PD. GBA1 mutations have been shown to cause autophagic–lysosomal impairment. Defective autophagic degradation of unwanted cellular constituents is associated with several pathologies, including loss of normal protein homeostasis, particularly of α-synuclein, and innate immune dysfunction. The latter is observed both peripherally and centrally in PD and GD. Here, we will discuss the mechanistic links between autophagy and immune dysregulation, and the possible role of these pathologies in communication between the gut and brain in these disorders. Recent work in a fly model of neuronopathic GD (nGD) revealed intestinal autophagic defects leading to gastrointestinal dysfunction and immune activation. Rapamycin treatment partially reversed the autophagic block and reduced immune activity, in association with increased survival and improved locomotor performance. Alterations in the gut microbiome are a critical driver of neuroinflammation, and studies have revealed that eradication of the microbiome in nGD fly and mouse models of PD ameliorate brain inflammation. Following these observations, lysosomal–autophagic pathways, innate immune signalling and microbiome dysbiosis are discussed as potential therapeutic targets in PD and GD. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘Understanding the endo-lysosomal network in neurodegeneration’

GENERATION OF VIBRATIONALLY EXCITED HCP FROM A STABLE SYNTHETIC PRECURSOR

HCP belongs to a class of reactive small molecules with much interest to spectroscopists. It bears certain similarities to HCN, including a strong ~{A}(bent) - ~{X}(linear) ultraviolet transition, associated with the HCP-HPC isomerization pathway. HCP has traditionally been generated by the $in situ$ reaction of chem{PH_3} and acetylene. In this talk, we will discuss a recently developed synthetic precursor molecule, 1,1-((triphenylphosphoranylidene)methyl)-9,10-phosphanoanthracene. At temperatures above 200 degrees Celsius, this precursor is thought to release HCP in a vibrationally excited state. We will present preliminary spectra on this system obtained by LIF and chirped pulse millimeter wave spectroscopy