Of Equity, Continuation and the De Facto Merger Doctrine: Reflections on Mississippi Law and Successor Liability

Mississippi Focu

Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and the Law

Symposium: Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and the Law: The Real World Effects of Law on Mississippi Business and Entrepreneurial Endeavors: Introductio

The gravitational path integral in eary universe cosmology

Die Pfadintegral-Quantisierung der semi-klassischen Gravitation ist einer der vielversprechendsten Ansätze zur Vereinheitlichung von Quantenmechanik und allgemeiner Relativitätstheorie. In dieser Arbeit untersuchen wir die Konsequenzen der Anwendung dieses Pfadintegralansatzes auf die Kosmologie des sehr frühen Universums. Im ersten Teil konzentrieren wir uns auf den no-boundary proposal, der einen nicht-singulären Anfang des Universums konstruiert, indem er sich auf das gravitative Pfadintegral der allgemeinen Relativitätstheorie stützt. Wir beweisen, dass die no-boundary Lösung das Hinzufügen von Korrekturen höherer Ordnung zur Gravitationswirkung überlebt. Unsere Analyse deutet also darauf hin, dass semi-klassische Ergebnisse auch in der perturbative Störungstheorie der vollständigen Quantengravitation gültig sind. Anschließend beziehen wir ein Skalarfeld in den neuen no-boundary proposal ein, der im Lorentz-Formalismus als Summe über Geometrien mit festem Anfangsimpuls definiert ist. Unsere Ergebnisse sind der Schlüssel zur Bestätigung der Gültigkeit des neuen no-boundary proposals, denn Skalarfelder sind das einfachste Beispiel für Materiefelder, die in einer realistischen Theorie des frühen Universums enthalten sein müssen. Der zweite Teil der Arbeit befasst sich mit der Pfadintegralansatz für allgemeineren Modellen des frühen Universums. Zunächst testen wir die Gültigkeit des semi-klassischen Limits dieser Modelle mit dem Kriterium der endlichen Amplitude, das z.B. Theorien höherer Ordnung der Gravitation stark einschränkt und den no-boundary proposal sowie emergente Universen begünstigt. Schließlich wenden wir das Kriterium der komplexen Metrik von Kontsevich und Segal auf kosmologische Hintergründe an. Im Kontext der Quantenkosmologie angewandt, führt es zu einem neuen Verständnis des gravitativen Pfadintegrals im no-boundary proposal und schließt generische quantum bounces aus.The path integral quantization of gravity is one of the most promising approaches to unify quantum mechanics and general relativity. This thesis pursues the consequences of the path integral approach applied to the cosmology of the very early universe, for which this unification is crucial. The first part focuses on the no-boundary proposal, which constructs a non-singular beginning of the universe by relying on the gravitational path integral of general relativity. We prove that the no-boundary solution survives the addition of higher-order corrections to the gravity action, usually found in high-energy completions of general relativity such as string theory. This indicates that semi-classical results may still hold at the perturbative level of full quantum gravity. We then include a scalar field in the new no-boundary proposal, defined in the Lorentzian formalism as a sum over geometries with fixed initial momentum flow. Our results are key to confirming the viability of the proposal, but also highlight the non-locality puzzle of the no-boundary proposal in the presence of matter fields, for which we offer new perspectives. The second part of the thesis deals with the path integral treatment of more general early universe models. First we test the validity of the semi-classical limit of these models with a finite amplitude criterion, which severely constrains e.g. higher-order theories of gravity and globally favors the no-boundary proposal and emergent-like universes. At last, we apply Kontsevich and Segal’s complex metric criterion to cosmological backgrounds. This criterion tests the path integral convergence of any quantum field theory on a given metric background. Applied in the context of quantum cosmology, it leads to a new understanding of the path integral in the no-boundary proposal, rules out generic quantum bounces, and stresses the limitation of minisuperspace for classical transitions in de Sitter spacetime

Pearl from the Dragon’s Mouth

The interplay between the external world (ching) and the poet’s inner world (ch’ing) lies at the heart of Chinese poetry, and understanding the interaction of the two is crucial to understanding this work from within its own tradition. Closely coordinating her discussions of poetry and criticism so that practice and theory become mutually enriching and illuminating, Sun offers sensitive and original readings of poems and a wealth of insights into Chinese poetics.The interplay between the external world (ching) and the poet’s inner world (ch’ing) lies at the heart of Chinese poetry, and understanding the interaction of the two is crucial to understanding this work from within its own tradition. Closely coordinating her discussions of poetry and criticism so that practice and theory become mutually enriching and illuminating, Sun offers sensitive and original readings of poems and a wealth of insights into Chinese poetics

Impact of social environment on variation in menstrual cycle length in captive female olive baboons (Papio anubis)

Factors affecting menstrual cycles and conception were explored for captive female olive baboons. We evaluated the relationship between the social environment and adequacy of the menstrual cycle in 55 non-conceptive and 21 conception cycles from 23 females. More abnormal cycles were expected for low-status females, and social stress levels were associated with variation in menstrual cycle length. Mean cycle length was 39.9 days (median=38) with a mean follicular phase duration of 23.7 (median=22) days. The duration of the follicular phase was more variable than that of the luteal phase (mean=15.8 days). The first cycle after post partum resumption of cycling was not markedly different from subsequent cycles in terms of duration or probability of conception. Dominance rank was one significant factor affecting female fertility. Low-ranking females experienced more cycles prior to conception, longer cycles once cycling was well established and had smaller sexual swellings anogenital area) than did high-ranking females. Both acute and chronic stresses may play important roles in fertility outcomes for these baboons and further research is needed to understand the role of stress and subtle menstrual cycle abnormalities in female mammal fertility

Magma flow inferred from AMS fabrics in a layered mafic sill, Insizwa, South Africa

The Insizwa sill, is a 25-km-diameter, >1000-m-thick layered mafic intrusion, part of the Karoo Igneous Province in South Africa. The peridotitic and gabbronoritic rocks are undeformed and mineral fabrics demonstrably result from magma flow. A horizontal, centimeter-scale model layering is visible in numerous outcrops. Plagioclase crystals are both tabular and elongated. Their preferred orientation, parallel to the layering, forms a foliation and a NW–SE lineation, respectively interpreted as the magma flow plane and flow direction. Throughout the 78 stations of this study (699 specimens), magnetic susceptibilities (K[subscript m]) range from 750 to 10,000×10[superscript (−6)] SI. The magnetic anisotropy (P[subscript j]) ranges from 1.03 to 1.08. Magnetic ellipsoids are both prolate and oblate (average T[subscript j]≈0). Anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) fabrics are dominated by multidomain to pseudo-single domain magnetite. High-field magnetic experiments indicate that the paramagnetic contribution from the mafic silicates is less than 50 percentage for low susceptibility rock types. The anisotropy results from magnetite grain shape solely as shown by no significant increase in P[subscript j] with increasing K[subscript m]. The magnetic lineation (305°, 05°) is consistent throughout the sill at various scales and coincides with the mineral lineation in average. In contrast, the magnetic foliation (125° NE 10°) is generally perpendicular to the mineral foliation and to the layering. Several explanations for this odd configuration are discussed. The variations of magnetic parameters across the layering and field observations point to a multiple injection. The magnetic lineation is consistent with the presence of a single feeder dike situated to the SE of the sill