Diagramming Interpretation

Sentence diagramming a method of showing the relationship between different parts of a sentence-has long been used by judges to interpret legal texts. This Comment documents how judges employ sentence diagrams in constitutional, statutory, and contract cases. It finds that diagramming plays an important role in constitutional and statutory cases, complementing traditional canons of legal interpretation, but that diagramming is less often used in contract cases for fear of disadvantaging grammatically unsophisticated parties. In addition, this Comment defends the practice of judicial diagramming as a way of improving textualist interpretation and promoting broader values of judicial opinion writing

Gaussian step-pressure loading of rigid viscoplastic plates

The response of a thin, rigid viscoplastic plate subjected to a spatially axisymmetric Gaussian step pressure impulse loading was studied analytically. A Gaussian pressure distribution in excess of the collapse load was applied to the plate, held constant for a length of time, and then suddenly removed. The plate deforms with monotonically increasing deflections until the dynamic energy is completely dissipated in plastic work. The simply supported plate of uniform thickness obeys the von Mises yield criterion and a generalized constitutive equation for rigid viscoplastic materials. For the small deflection bending response of the plate, the governing system of equations is essentially nonlinear. Transverse shear stress is neglected in the yield condition and rotary inertia in the equations of dynamic equilibrium. A proportional loading technique, known to give excellent approximations of the exact solution for the uniform load case, was used to linearize the problem and to obtain the analytical solutions in the form of eigenvalue expansions. The effects of load concentration, of an order of magnitude change in the viscosity of the plate material, and of load duration were examined while holding the total impulse constant

Molecular studies of splice sites in the Canine Dystrophin Gene

The development of an effective therapy for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) is one of the primary goals of all DMD/Becker Muscular Dystrophy (BMD) research. Golden Retriever Muscular Dystrophy (GRMD), an animal model of DMD is a fatal degenerative myopathy. Unlike the mdx model, the GRMD dog more accurately reflects the phenotype shown by human DMG patients, making the model better suited for the investigation and assessment of potential therapeutic approaches. The GRMD mutation, a base change from A to G in the 3\u27 splice acceptor site of intron 6, results in exon 7 skipping which disrupts the translational reading frame. As a result, affected dogs have drastically reduced levels of dystrophin and its mRNA transcript. Recently, genetic therapy with antisense oligonucleotides (AOs) has attracted special interest as a novel therapeutic approach for DMD. AOs may be introduced into myotubes to redirect the splicing of GRMD dystrophin pre-mRNA to restore the reading frame. Ideally, this would increase the quantity of functional dystrophin in affected DMD tissues to levels of therapeutic value. The objective of this project was to identify intronic sequences from the canine dystrophin gene in the region of the mutation to allow the design AOs to be trialled as a therapy for GRMD. lntronic sequences that needed to be identified for the design of AOs were at the boundaries of intron 5/ exon 6, exon 6/ intron 7, exon 8/ intron 8 and intron 8/ exon 9. It was hoped that the application of the appropriate AOs would induce the processing/splicing of the dystrophin gene to exclude exons 6 and 8 (exon 7 is omitted due to the GRMD mutation) to restore the reading frame. To detennine these intronic sequences, several intronic sequencing strategies were attempted. These included long range PCR amplification, inverse PCR, PCR screening of a plagemid GR library, construction of a GR cosmid library for hybridization screening and PCR screening of a phage canine genomic library. This project determined the intronic boundaries of exon6/intron 6, intron 7/exon 8, exon 8(1ntron 8 and intron 8/exon9. Successful methods that identified intronic sequences included long-range PCR amplification and ihe PCR screening of both the phagemid and phage genomic DNA libraries. As it eventuated, this thesis also reported the first attempt at AO-induced GR dystrophin ex on skipping in a GR primary myoblast tissue culture

A user's guide to the SUDAN computer program for determining the vibration modes of structural systems

The use of the SUDAN computer program for analyzing structural systems for their natural modes and frequencies of vibration is described. SUDAN is intended for structures which can be represented as an equivalent system of beam, spring, and rigid-body substructures. User-written constraint equations are used to analytically join the mass and stiffness matrices of the substructures to form the mass and stiffness matrices of the complete structure from which all the frequencies and modes of the system are determined. The SUDAN program can treat the case in which both the mass and stiffness matrices of the coupled system may be singular simultaneously. A general description of the FORTRAN IV program is given, the computer hardware and software specifications are indicated, and the input required by the program is described

The Intercircuit Exclusionary Rule

Imagine that you commit a crime in Connecticut and then return home toPuerto Rico where you commit another crime. In the course of investigating thesecond crime (in Puerto Rico), the FBI discovers evidence that implicates you inthe first crime. In light of this evidence, the federal government indicts you forthe first crime, in accordance with venue rules, in the District of Connecticut. Attrial, you argue that the inculpatory evidence should be suppressed because theSecond Circuit (the place of the trial) has ruled that similar searches violate theFourth Amendment. The government, by contrast, argues that the evidenceshould be admitted because the First Circuit (the place of the search) has ruledthat such searches do not violate the Fourth Amendment. How should the trialjudge rule?

Teaching with style: computer aided instruction, personality and design education

The investigation reported in this thesis concerns the possibility of automatically matching the learning styles of design students with appropriate styles of computer aided instruction (CAl). Individual adult learners exhibit preferences for the way information is presented and for the ways in which they are taught. These preferences arise from characteristics known as cognitive styles which are associated with personality. Cognitive dissonance occurs when there is a mismatch between styles of teaching and styles of learning. Under these conditions some students will be discouraged. A survey of students on typical design courses showed them to have particular learning preferences. In this respect they are differentiated from tutors who may prefer to teach in a different style. CAl systems also exhibit styles. These are manifest in features such as the computer's control of learning interactions and the form of information which the system delivers. Computer-based training has often been of a sequential, drill-andpractice kind which encourages rote learning. This style has met with limited success, and it is shown to be unsuitable for most design students. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is used to classify the psychological types of design students. Evidence of learning preferences from the MBTI and from related sources is given. From a theoretical description of learning episodes, a computer-based model is developed that provides CAl treatments matched to sixteen learning styles. It is concluded that CAl-based teaching of technological information to design students can be more optimally matched. The principles established have wider implications for communications between designers and others

Method in Galen

I have discussed the four methods of ancient philosophy namely demonstration, division, resolution, and composition. But first, I glance at logic, which "discovers the principles of medical treatment". Method in pathology discovers "the affected parts of the body" and nosology, "the symptoms of diseases and their causes". In therapeutics, method "discovers drugs appropiate to specific diseases". The leader in all things pertaining to method is Hippocrates

Waltzing Through a Loophole: How Parens Patriae Suits Allow Circumvention of the Class Action Fairness Act

This Note explores the applicability of the Class Action Fairness Act\u27s (CAFA) mass action removal provision to parens patriae suits. CAFA amended the federal rules governing aggregate litigation, replacing the complete diversity requirement with a minimal diversity requirement. CAFA\u27s applicability to parens patriae suits, a type of representative lawsuit brought by a state alleging injuries to its citizens, was first addressed in Louisiana ex rel. Caldwell v. Allstate Insurance Co. In Caldwell, the Fifth Circuit held that a parens patriae suit was mislabeled because the real parties in interest-the parties whose interests constitute the basis of the parens patriae standing-represented in the action were the citizens and the suit should have been treated as a mass action for purposes of removal under CAFA. This Note examines CAFA\u27s mass action provision and the concept of parens patriae actions and concludes that the Fifth Circuit\u27s approach to removing mislabeled parens patriae suits is supported by existing jurisprudence and statutory analysis and is consistent with CAFA\u27s inten