The Constitutionality of Lobby Reform: Implicating Associational Privacy and the Right to Petition the Government

Lobbyists currently are required to register and report to the United States Congress under the Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act of 1946. Because of poor draftsmanship, the 1946 Act actually covers few lobbyists and is not enforced by the federal government. One recent federal bill attempts to reform lobbying registration by addressing the inadequacies of the current law. If enacted, this bill might be challenged as an impediment to First Amendment rights. Any attempt at lobby reform implicates the First Amendment right to petition the government and the right of associational privacy. These issues have been analyzed by state and federal courts in cases representing challenges to lobbying regulations. An analytical framework can be extracted from these cases which offers the most desirable method of balancing individual liberties with the need for lobbying regulation. The recent federal bill is analyzed under this framework and practical solutions are offered to help ensure the constitutionality of future attempts at lobby reform

A Broad View of Systems Analysis and Design: Implications for Research

This article presents a broad view of systems analysis and design (SA&D) research. Although SA&D is a critical area of research in the information systems field, relatively little such research has been published in leading IS journals. To point toward increased research opportunities for SA&D work, this article presents a framework that illustrates the broad range of activities within the SA&D area. This framework contrasts with narrower views that consider SA&D to be concerned primarily with software development. The framework positions SA&D activities in a two-dimensional space. We identify theoretical and practical research issues that apply across the full range of SA&D activities as well as issues that apply to specific situations. Research opportunities in SA&D are described and discussed

A Broad View of Systems Analysis and Design

This article presents a broad view of systems analysis and design (SA&D) research. Although SA&D is a critical area of research in the information systems field, relatively little such research has been published in leading IS journals. To point toward increased research opportunities for SA&D work, this article presents a framework that illustrates the broad range of activities within the SA&D area. This framework contrasts with narrower views that consider SA&D to be concerned primarily with software development. The framework positions SA&D activities in a two-dimensional space. We identify theoretical and practical research issues that apply across the full range of SA&D activities as well as issues that apply to specific situations. Research opportunities in SA&D are described and discussed

Relevance-Redundancy Dominance: a threshold-free approach to filter-based feature selection

Feature selection is used to select a subset of relevant features in machine learning, and is vital for simplification, improving efficiency and reducing overfitting. In filter-based feature selection, a statistic such as correlation or entropy is computed between each feature and the target variable to evaluate feature relevance. A relevance threshold is typically used to limit the set of selected features, and features can also be removed based on redundancy (similarity to other features). Some methods are designed for use with a specific statistic or certain types of data. We present a new filter-based method called Relevance-Redundancy Dominance that applies to mixed data types, can use a wide variety of statistics, and does not require a threshold. Finally, we provide preliminary results, through extensive numerical experiments on public credit datasets

A multistep continuous flow synthesis machine for the preparation of pyrazoles via a metal-free amine-redox process.

A versatile multistep continuous flow setup is reported for the four-step conversion of anilines into pyrazole products. The synthesis machine incorporates the use of amine-redox chemistry through diazotization and a metal-free vitamin C mediated reduction. The machine can be used for the synthesis of an array of analogues or the scale up of an individual target.We are grateful to the Cambridge Home and European Scholarship Scheme (JSP) and EPSRC (DLB and SVL, grant numbers EP/K0099494/1 and EP/K039520/1) for financial support.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from the Royal Society of Chemistry via http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/C5RE00082

Supramolecular Low-Molecular-Weight Hydrogelator Stabilization of SERS-Active Aggregated Nanoparticles for Solution and Gas Sensing

The potential of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy in both laboratory and field analyses depends on the reliable formation of so-called SERS hot spots, such as those formed during gold or silver nanoparticle aggregation. Unfortunately such aggregates are not stable in solution because they typically grow until they precipitate. Here we describe the use of low-molecular-weight hydrogels formed through pH-triggered self-assembly that occurs at a rate that well matches the rates of aggregation of Au or Ag colloids, allowing them to be trapped at the SERS-active point in the aggregation process. We show that the colloid-containing gels give SERS signals similar to the parent colloid but are stable over several months. Moreover, lyophilized gels can be stored as dry powders for subsequent use in the analyses of gases and dissolved analytes by contact with either solutions or vapors. The present system shows how the combination of pH-switchable low-molecular-weight gelators and pH-induced colloid aggregation can be combined to make a highly stable, low-cost SERS platform for the detection of volatile organic compounds and the microvolume analysis of solutions

Continuous Flow Metathesis for Direct Valorization of Food Waste: An Example of Cocoa Butter Triglyceride.

The direct chemical conversion of cocoa butter triglycerides, a material available as a postmanufacture waste stream from the food industry, to 1-decene by way of ethenolysis is reported. The conversion of the raw waste material was made possible by use of 1 mol % of the [RuCl2(iBu-phoban)2(3-phenylindenyl)] catalyst. The process has been investigated in both batch and flow conditions, where the latter approach employs a Teflon AF-2400 tube-in-tube gas-liquid membrane contactor to deliver ethylene to the reaction system. These preliminary studies culminate in a continuous processing system, which maintained a constant output over a 150 min period tested.The ERC (Advanced Investigator Award-FUNCAT to S.P.N.) and EPSRC are gratefully acknowledged for support (S.V.L., D.L.B., Award No. EP/K009494/1). Umicore AG is acknowledged for their generous gift of materials. S.P.N. is a Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award holder.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from ACS via http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.5b00397

Optimal investment choices post-retirement in a defined contribution pension scheme

In defined contribution pension schemes, the financial risk is borne by the member. Financial risk occurs both during the accumulation phase (investment risk) and at retirement, when the annuity is bought (annuity risk). The annuity risk faced by the member can be reduced through the “income drawdown option”: the retiree is allowed to choose when to convert the final capital into pension within a certain period of time after retirement. In some countries, there is a limiting age when annuitization becomes compulsory (in UK this age is 75). In the interim, the member can withdraw periodic amounts of money to provide for daily life, within certain limits imposed by the scheme’s rules (or by law). In this paper, we investigate the income drawdown option and define a stochastic optimal control problem, looking for optimal investment strategies to be adopted after retirement, when allowing for periodic fixed withdrawals from the fund. The risk attitude of the member is also considered, by changing a parameter in the disutility function chosen. We find that there is a natural target level of the fund, interpretable as a safety level, which can never be exceeded when optimal control is used. Numerical examples are presented in order to analyse various indices — relevant to the pensioner — when the optimal investment allocation is adopted. These indices include, for example, the risk of outliving the assets before annuitization occurs (risk of ruin), the average time of ruin, the probability of reaching a certain pension target (that is greater than or equal to the pension that the member could buy immediately on retirement), the final outcome that can be reached (distribution of annuity that can be bought at limit age), and how the risk attitude of the member affects the key performance measures mentioned above

Botulinum Toxin for giant omphalocele abdominal wall reconstruction

Introduction The use of Botulinum Toxin A (BTA) has been shown to be safe and efficacious in neuromuscular blockade in both adult and pediatric patients. While BTA injections have been used safely in the pediatric population for a variety of medical conditions, its use in pediatric abdominal wall reconstruction has not been described. This report describes a unique surgical technique that will increase abdominal domain and allow for earlier closure of giant omphalocele defects. Case report A 33-week twin premie was born with a giant omphalocele. In an effort to achieve primary closure without the need for mesh, BTA injections were performed under ultrasound guidance two weeks prior to a planned closure. BTA injections included administration of 8 units at separate sites of the abdominal musculature bilaterally. After reduction, a component separation, and primary approximation of the fascial defect were achieved without signs of abdominal compartment syndrome. Conclusion BTA injection into the abdominal wall musculature provides a safe and effective mechanism to increase laxity of the abdominal wall musculature and decrease tension on the reconstruction for giant omphaloceles defects. The use of BTA may allow earlier repair in this subset of patients without the need for mesh

Light Primes the Escape Response of the Calanoid Copepod, Calanus finmarchicus

The timing and magnitude of an escape reaction is often the determining factor governing a copepod’s success at avoiding predation. Copepods initiate rapid and directed escapes in response to fluid signals created by predators; however little is known about how copepods modulate their behavior in response to additional sensory input. This study investigates the effect of light level on the escape behavior of Calanus finmarchicus. A siphon flow was used to generate a consistent fluid signal and the behavioral threshold and magnitude of the escape response was quantified in the dark and in the light. The results show that C. finmarchicus initiated their escape reaction further from the siphon and traveled with greater speed in the light than in the dark. However, no difference was found in the escape distance. These results suggest that copepods use information derived from multiple sensory inputs to modulate the sensitivity and strength of the escape in response to an increase risk of predation. Population and IBM models that predict optimal vertical distributions of copepods in response to visual predators need to consider changes in the copepod's behavioral thresholds when predicting predation risk within the water column