Dissolving Condominium, Private Takings, and the Nature of Property

Condominium enables the subdivision of buildings into multiple private titles. It does so by combining individual titles with an undivided share of common property, a right to participate in governing the property, and an obligation to contribute to its maintenance. The dissolution of condominium breaks apart this package of rights and responsibilities, and results in the termination of the individual titles. Some common law jurisdictions require the unanimous consent of title holders to dissolve condominium, others permit it with a supermajority vote. All jurisdictions allow for non-consensual dissolution, and thus the termination of titles without consent, with a court order. This paper reviews dissolution rules and reform efforts in several common law jurisdictions and then uses the condominium legislation and case law from British Columbia to argue that non-consensual dissolution of condominium, whether by supermajority vote or court order, should be understood as private takings. However, the purpose of this characterization is not to advocate for a unanimity or a supermajority rule. Instead, this paper uses the takings literature to reveal that the legislative choice between dissolution rules, and the judicial choice between ordering or declining to order the dissolution of condominium, is also a choice between different conceptions of property and of what property is for. Finally, the paper argues that the growing prevalence of condominium as a form of ownership, and its capacity to reflect broader tensions in ownership regimes between individual and community, suggest that the nature of property within condominium is increasingly important in constructing the nature of property in land

Level I Fieldwork Using Simulation: Student Performance Outcomes and Perceptions

The purpose of this study was to examine students’ perceptions and performance outcomes of a virtual fieldwork using Simucase® in conjunction with supplemental activities and debriefing opportunities. The simulation replaced Level I clinic-based fieldwork experiences that were cancelled due to COVID-19. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected using a modified evaluation tool to assess student performance outcomes and perceptions for students in the Year one Occupational Therapy Doctorate (OTD) cohort (n=57) and the Year two Master of Occupational Therapy (MOT) cohort (n=57) enrolled in a public university in the rural Midwest. Student ratings were compared using chi-square test of independence statistics and correlations with faculty ratings were estimated using Spearman’s correlation. Findings suggest that students performed high in most areas for six professional behaviors and five professional skills. Creswell and Creswell’s (2018) approach was used to analyze and compare student perceptions within cohorts to establish themes. Six themes were identified in students’ skill set and confidence with virtual fieldwork, and two themes were identified for ways to enhance the experience

Unlocking the potential within: A preliminary study of individual and community outcomes from a university enabling program in rural Australia

© 2016, Adult Learning Australia Inc. All rights reserved. Many rural communities have a pool of mature-aged local people seeking a career change or better lifestyle, which inevitably involves reskilling or upskilling. These people have strong local ties and are committed to their community. University enabling programs provide a bridge to higher education. This longitudinal study explores the impact on rural mature-aged people of participation in a university enabling program, in terms of further study and employment outcomes. The benefits of enabling programs extend beyond individuals, to family and friends, and beyond. These broader benefits include an enhanced local skills base in key industry areas, and an increased awareness of the value of higher education within the community. Enabling programs are a powerful but under-valued tool in helping to unlock and harness the potential within rural communities, both in the medium and longer term

Occupational Therapy Practice Patterns In Two Rural States: Does The College Experience Influence Rural Employment Choice?

An online survey was conducted of 225 occupational therapy (OT) practitioners living in the rural states of North Dakota and Wyoming to explore practice patterns and the influence of the college experience on employment choice. Findings showed that rural practitioners had greater variability of hours spent working (5.5 more hours per week, p=.028), and one more work location on average (p=.006). Therapists in urban settings spent 15% more time in fieldwork education than their rural counterparts (p=.021). Rural practice choice was influenced by participation in Level I and Level II fieldwork (p=.002) but not by loan debt. Study implications for academic programs include focusing on multiple areas of practice in the curriculum design, and exposure of students to rural practitioners and rural practice examples/experiences. Recommendations were made for rural fieldwork educator training and employer support of rural fieldwork education. Further study of the experience of working within a rural practice context as a student and OT practitioner are recommended, including variables impacting rural practitioner work with fieldwork students, and student interest in rural fieldwork placement

Magnetic White Dwarfs from the SDSS II. The Second and Third Data Releases

Fifty-two magnetic white dwarfs have been identified in spectroscopic observations from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) obtained between mid-2002 and the end of 2004, including Data Releases 2 and 3. Though not as numerous nor as diverse as the discoveries from the first Data Release, the collection exhibits polar field strengths ranging from 1.5MG to ~1000MG, and includes two new unusual atomic DQA examples, a molecular DQ, and five stars that show hydrogen in fields above 500MG. The highest-field example, SDSSJ2346+3853, may be the most strongly magnetic white dwarf yet discovered. Analysis of the photometric data indicates that the magnetic sample spans the same temperature range as for nonmagnetic white dwarfs from the SDSS, and support is found for previous claims that magnetic white dwarfs tend to have larger masses than their nonmagnetic counterparts. A glaring exception to this trend is the apparently low-gravity object SDSSJ0933+1022, which may have a history involving a close binary companion.Comment: 20 pages, 4 figures Accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journa

A Catalog of Spectroscopically Confirmed White Dwarfs from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 4

We present a catalog of 9316 spectroscopically confirmed white dwarfs from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 4. We have selected the stars through photometric cuts and spectroscopic modeling, backed up by a set of visual inspections. Roughly 6000 of the stars are new discoveries, roughly doubling the number of spectroscopically confirmed white dwarfs. We analyze the stars by performing temperature and surface gravity fits to grids of pure hydrogen and helium atmospheres. Among the rare outliers are a set of presumed helium-core DA white dwarfs with estimated masses below 0.3 Msun, including two candidates that may be the lowest masses yet found. We also present a list of 928 hot subdwarfs.Comment: Accepted by the Astrophysical Journal Supplements, 25 pages, 24 figures, LaTeX. The electronic catalog, as well as diagnostic figures and links to the spectra, is available at http://das.sdss.org/wdcat/dr4

Generation of entangled states and error protection from adiabatic avoided level crossings

We consider the environment-affected dynamics of $N$ self-interacting particles living in one-dimensional double wells. Two topics are dealt with. First, we consider the production of entangled states of two-level systems. We show that by adiabatically varying the well biases we may dynamically generate maximally entangled states, starting from initially unentangled product states. Entanglement degradation due to a common type of environmental influence is then computed by solving a master equation. However, we also demonstrate that entanglement production is unaffected if the system-environment coupling is of the type that induces ``motional narrowing''. As our second but related topic, we construct a different master equation that seamlessly merges error protection/detection dynamics for quantum information with the environmental couplings responsible for producing the errors in the first place. Adiabatic avoided crossing schemes are used in both topics.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures. Minor changes. To appear in Phys. Rev.

Cannabinoid use and effects in patients with epidermolysis bullosa:an international cross-sectional survey study

Abstract Background Epidermolysis bullosa (EB) patient anecdotes and case reports indicate that cannabinoid-based medicines (CBMs) may alleviate pain and pruritus and improve wound healing. CBM use has not been characterized in the EB patient population. Objectives To evaluate CBM use among EB patients, including CBM types, effects on symptoms (e.g., pain and pruritus), disease process (e.g., blistering, wounds, and inflammation), well-being (e.g., sleep, appetite) and concomitant medications. Methods English-speaking EB patients or caregivers completed an online international, anonymous, cross-sectional survey regarding CBM use. Respondents reported the types of CBMs, subsequent effects including perceived EB symptom alteration, changes in medication use, and side effects. Results Seventy-one EB patients from five continents reported using or having used CBMs to treat their EB. Missing question responses ranged between 0 (0%) and 33 (46%). Most used more than one CBM preparation (mean: 2.4 ± 1.5) and route of administration (mean: 2.1 ± 1.1). Topical and ingested were the most common routes. Pain and pruritus were reported retrospectively to decrease by 3 points (scale: 0–10; p < 0.001 for both) after CBM use. Most reported that CBM use improved their overall EB symptoms (95%), pain (94%), pruritus (91%) and wound healing (81%). Most participants (79%) reported decreased use of pain medications. The most common side-effect was dry mouth (44%). Conclusions CBMs improve the perception of pain, pruritus, wound healing, and well-being in EB patients and reduced concomitant medication use. Nevertheless, a direct relation between the use of CBMs and reduction of the above-mentioned symptoms cannot be proven by these data. Therefore, future controlled studies using pharmaceutically standardised CBM preparations in EB are warranted to delineate the risks and benefits of CBMs

Differential receptor binding and regulatory mechanisms for the lymphangiogenic growth factors VEGF-C and VEGF-D

VEGF-C and VEGF-D are secreted glycoproteins that induce angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis in cancer, thereby promoting tumor growth and spread. They exhibit structural homology and activate VEGFR-2 and VEGFR-3, receptors on endothelial cells that signal for growth of blood vessels and lymphatics. VEGF-C and VEGF-D were thought to exhibit similar bioactivities, yet recent studies indicated distinct signaling mechanisms (e.g. tumor-derived VEGF-C promoted expression of the prostaglandin biosynthetic enzyme COX-2 in lymphatics, a response thought to facilitate metastasis via the lymphatic vasculature, whereas VEGF-D did not). Here we explore the basis of the distinct bioactivities of VEGF-D using a neutralizing antibody, peptide mapping, and mutagenesis to demonstrate that the N-terminal α-helix of mature VEGF-D (Phe(93)–Arg(108)) is critical for binding VEGFR-2 and VEGFR-3. Importantly, the N-terminal part of this α-helix, from Phe(93) to Thr(98), is required for binding VEGFR-3 but not VEGFR-2. Surprisingly, the corresponding part of the α-helix in mature VEGF-C did not influence binding to either VEGFR-2 or VEGFR-3, indicating distinct determinants of receptor binding by these growth factors. A variant of mature VEGF-D harboring a mutation in the N-terminal α-helix, D103A, exhibited enhanced potency for activating VEGFR-3, was able to promote increased COX-2 mRNA levels in lymphatic endothelial cells, and had enhanced capacity to induce lymphatic sprouting in vivo. This mutant may be useful for developing protein-based therapeutics to drive lymphangiogenesis in clinical settings, such as lymphedema. Our studies shed light on the VEGF-D structure/function relationship and provide a basis for understanding functional differences compared with VEGF-C