ADR and Litigation Involving Social Problems

This Article addresses remarks of the Corporation Counsel of the City of New York, Michael Cardozo, regarding the use of ADR in legal disputes involving municipal government. It also highlights the special responsibilities of class counsel in the ADR context in class action litigation on behalf of vulnerable families and individuals. Specifically, the Article addresses ADR resolutions in Sheppard v. Phoenix, No. 91 Civ. 4148(RPP), 1998 WL 397846 (S.D.N.Y. July 16, 1998), Marisol v. Giuliani, 185 F.R.D. 152 (S.D.N.Y. 1992), and McCain v. Dinkins, 84 N.Y.2d 216 (1994). The Article concludes with a discussion of ADR in the context of litigation on behalf of homeless New Yorkers. ADR can simultaneously prevent harm to vulnerable populations and keep parties out of court when the government falls out of compliance with legal rights and protections. ADR should not be used to wipe away fundamental legal rights protecting homeless families

Women leadership in business based on customary land: The concept of wanbel

fals

Postactivation Potentiation: Practical Implications in The Collegiate Setting

Banks, Steven, M.S., May 2016 Health and Human Performance, Exercise Science POSTACTIVATION POTENTIATION PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS IN THE COLLEGIATE SETTING Chairperson: Matthew Bundle Ph.D. Postactivation potentiation (PAP) induced by a voluntary conditioning activity (CA) has been shown to increase peak force and rate of force development during subsequent muscle contractions increasing performance. We examined existing PAP literature, the underlying physiological mechanisms responsible for PAP, and the various factors that affect protocols used to elicit the PAP response. Furthermore, we aimed to determine what combination of factors are optimal for eliciting a PAP response in training and competition. The proposed mechanism underlying PAP are associated with a phosphorylation of regulatory light chains and an increase in neuromuscular activation through enhanced recruitment of faster motor units. The full understanding of these factors has been hindered by the confounding effects of muscle fatigue during brief intense muscular contractions. In addition to the physiological mechanisms responsible for the PAP phenomenon it is also critical to understand the effect subject characteristics have on PAP. An individual’s training status, strength level and muscle fiber type composition play a role in the magnitude of PAP response. These protocols use various approaches to stimulate and condition the muscle to elicit PAP. These protocols include traditional resistance training, maximum isometric voluntary contractions, whole body vibration and low-load ballistic exercises. Individuals with a higher training status (age), strength level and fast-twitch muscle fiber type distribution may be more likely to express PAP at a greater magnitude (if at all). These individual factors also must be considered when deciding which conditioning activity and rest interval to use when applying PAP in training or competition. From a practical standpoint, conditioning activities with short rest intervals are more advantageous for application. Further investigation is needed into the mechanisms of PAP under varying conditions, specifically how PAP could be applied to competitive sport and chronic adaptations from training

A Physiological Role for Amyloid Beta Protein: Enhancement of Learning and Memory

Amyloid beta protein (A[beta]) is well recognized as having a significant role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The reason for the presence of A[beta] and its physiological role in non-disease states is not clear. In these studies, low doses of A[beta] enhanced memory retention in two memory tasks and enhanced acetylcholine production in the hippocampus _in vivo_. We then tested whether endogenous A[beta] has a role in learning and memory in young, cognitively intact mice by blocking endogenous A[beta] in healthy 2-month-old CD-1 mice. Blocking A[beta] with antibody to A[beta] or DFFVG (which blocks A[beta] binding) or decreasing A[beta] expression with an antisense directed at the A[beta] precursor APP all resulted in impaired learning in T-maze foot-shock avoidance. Finally, A[beta]1-42 facilitated induction and maintenance of long term potentiation in hippocampal slices, whereas antibodies to A[beta] inhibited hippocampal LTP. These results indicate that in normal healthy young animals the presence of A[beta] is important for learning and memory

Quantization in black hole backgrounds

Quantum field theory in a semiclassical background can be derived as an approximation to quantum gravity from a weak-coupling expansion in the inverse Planck mass. Such an expansion is studied for evolution on "nice-slices" in the spacetime describing a black hole of mass M. Arguments for a breakdown of this expansion are presented, due to significant gravitational coupling between fluctuations, which is consistent with the statement that existing calculations of information loss in black holes are not reliable. For a given fluctuation, the coupling to subsequent fluctuations becomes of order unity by a time of order M^3. Lack of a systematic derivation of the weakly-coupled/semiclassical approximation would indicate a role for the non-perturbative dynamics of gravity, and possibly for the proposal that such dynamics has an essentially non-local quality.Comment: 28 pages, 4 figures, harvmac. v2: added refs, minor clarification

High Energy Scattering and D-Pair Creation in Matrix String Theory

In this paper we use the matrix string approach to begin a study of high energy scattering processes in M-theory. In particular we exhibit an instanton-type configuration in 1+1 super-Yang-Mills theory that can be interpreted as a non-perturbative description of a string interaction. This solution is used to describe high energy processes with non-zero longitudinal momentum exchange, in which an arbitrary number of eigenvalues get transferred between the two scattering states. We describe a direct correspondence between these semi-classical SYM configurations and the Gross-Mende saddle points. We also study in detail the pair production of D-particles via a one-loop calculation which in the 1+1D gauge theory language is described by the (perturbative) transition between states with different electric flux. Finally, we discuss a possible connection between these calculations in which D-particle production gives important corrections to the Gross-Mende process.Comment: 44 pages, harvmac; minor reference and equation correction

Gaugino Condensation, Moduli Potentials and Supersymmetry Breaking in M-Theory Models

We derive the explicit form, and discuss some properties of the moduli dependent effective potential arising from M-theory compactified on $M_4 \times X\times S^1 / Z_2$, when one of the boundaries supports a strongly interacting gauge sector and induces gaugino condensation. We discuss the relation between the explicit gaugino condensate and effective superpotential formulations and find interesting differences with respect to the situation known from the weakly coupled heterotic string case. The moduli dependence of the effective potential turns out to be more complicated than expected, and perhaps offers new clues to the stabilization problem.Comment: Latex file, 21 pages, various typos corrected, references added. Version to appear in Nuclear Physics

Smart formulation for precise crop protection

Ph. D, ThesisPost-emergence selective herbicides are an important part of the management of competitive weed species within crops, with delivery through the use of formulation being a key factor in their effective use. As a result of increasing environmental concern and stricter regulation on herbicide usage, there is a progressive move away from solvent based herbicide formulations to more environmentally friendly water-based systems, such as suspension concentrates (SC). Effective delivery of the active ingredient is often a major limitation to SC formulations, being highly dependent on chemical additives known as adjuvants. In this project we have examined the effect of varying the adjuvant chemistry on the delivery of SC formulated herbicides using wheat (Triticum aestivum) as the crop and blackgrass (Alopecurus myosuroides) and ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) as the weeds targeted for control. The herbicides selected for the study were cyhalofop-butyl, diuron, metolachlor, flufenacet and propyzamide. Several biomarkers of primary herbicide delivery were assessed, including stress-inducible genes as determined using qPCR, and absorbed active ingredient and immediate detoxification products, monitored by liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectroscopy (LCMS). Changes in the expression of the stress-responsive genes catalase, GST23, GSTF1, gstu2, HSP90, RGA4, and ATP synthase over the timescales of interest (0 – 16 hours post treatment) proved unreliable. Instead, emphasis was placed on identifying primary detoxification products of herbicides effectively formed spontaneously on uptake in planta. Of the five herbicides tested, metolachlor and flufenacet proved the most tractable, as both undergo spontaneous conjugation with glutathione when taken up into plant cells, with the conjugates being readily detectable by LCMS. With further refinement of the analytical technology, this approach focussed on flufenacet, a herbicide of increasing importance in grass weed control, which following its glutathionylation is then processed into a sequential series of catabolites of the conjugate notably glutamyl-cysteine, cysteinyl-glycine and cysteine flufenacet conjugates. By monitoring the levels of these flufenacet metabolites over time, it proved possible to measure the uptake, bioavailability, and metabolism of the herbicide as a dynamic process. Wheat, blackgrass, and ryegrass were treated with flufenacet formulations containing 10% (w/w) of a “Tween” and “Tween L” series of adjuvants. Herbicide uptake and metabolism were greater in both blackgrass and ryegrass than in wheat with all adjuvants tested. Whereas varying adjuvant type had little effect on flufenacet uptake in wheat, with the weeds, the Tween series showed a step-wise change in uptake rate correlating with the level of ethoxylation, with Tween 22 (8 repeat units of polyethylene glycol) resulting in the greatest uptake and Tween 20 (20 repeat units of polyethylene glycol) resulting in the least. To explain these results, the droplet properties of the applied formulations were observed by looking at contact angle, surface tension, dry down distribution, and drying time, to determine influence on uptake. Additionally, the surface characteristics of leaves of each plant were explored looking at the composition of the waxy cuticle by gas chromatography coupled mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) and gas chromatography couple flame ionisation (GCFID). Wheat tended to have higher chain length compounds composing the waxy cuticle, giving rise to a more hydrophobic surface and a reduced contact angle of applied herbicides. Both blackgrass and ryegrass shared several similarities in waxy chemical composition, such as 1-Hexacosanol being the predominant chemical within each, giving rise to similar levels of contact angle regression on herbicide application. Using metabolite formation as a highly sensitive marker of the initial stages of herbicide uptake our studies demonstrate that varying Tween adjuvant chemistry can enhance delivery in grass weeds, while having no significant effects on the crop. This differential uptake can be explained by differences in the formulated herbicide’s behaviour on the surface of these grasses, which are in turn dependent on surface hydrophobicity. Further refinements in adjuvant chemistry show new potential in enhancing grass weed control in wheat using existing selective herbicides. With further study these results could be applied to additional actives and weed species to best optimise herbicide formulations for delivery and control.BBSRC, Crod

Degrader Analysis for Diagnostic and Predictive Capabilities: A Demonstration of Progress in DoD CBM+ Initiatives

This paper presents a modified reliability centered maintenance (RCM) methodology developed by The Applied Research Laboratory at The Pennsylvania State University (ARL Penn State) to meet challenges in decreasing life cycle sustainment costs for critical Naval assets. The focus of this paper is on the requirements for the development of the on-board Prognostics and Health Management (PHM) system with a discussion on the implementation progress for two systems: the high pressure air compressor (HPAC), and the advanced carbon dioxide removal unit (ACRU). Recent Department of Defense (DoD) guidance calls for implementing Condition Based Maintenance (CBM) as an alternative to traditional reactive and preventative maintenance strategies that rely on regular and active participation from subject matter experts to evaluate the health condition of critical systems. The RCM based degrader analysis utilizes data from multiple sources to provide a path for selecting systems and components most likely to benefit from the implementation of diagnostic and predictive capabilities for monitoring and managing failure modes by determining various options of possible CBM system designs that provide the highest potential ROI. Sensor data collected by the PHM system can be used with machine learning applications to develop failure mode predictive algorithms with greatest benefit in terms of performance, sustainment costs, and increasing platform operational availability. The approach supports traditional maintenance strategy development by assessing the financial benefit of the PHM technology implementation with promising potential for many industrial and military complex adaptive system applications