Approaching Aisthetics Or: Installation Art and Environmental Aesthetics as Investigative Activity

The article discusses installation art and its potential contribution to a transdisciplinary research practice, in which not only artistic, but also aesthetic theoretical approaches could play a central role. However, as the article shows, this firstly requires a change in perspective concerning the way we approach art. Secondly, it entails changes to a common understanding of aesthetic theory and, thereby, philosophy. A term of central significance in this context is the notion of aisthesis. The article will illustrate these thoughts through the examples of Bruce Nauman, Ilya Kabakov, and Arnold Berleant

THROW AWAY THE KEY, OR THE KEY HOLDER? COERCIVE CONTEMPT FOR LOST OR FORGOTTEN CRYPTOCURRENCY PRIVATE KEYS, OR OBSTINATE HOLDERS

Most cryptoassets natively function as bearer instruments. Whoever controls the private key for a given cryptoasset wallet generally controls the assets held by that wallet. In a civil or criminal action or as part of a governmental investigation, parties may be ordered to disclose their private keys or to transfer cryptoassets controlled by those private keys. However, people forget things and lose things, including extremely important things. Parties may lose private keys, and thereby lose control of their assets; parties acting in bad faith, or due to ideological motivation, may claim that “lost” or “forgotten” private keys prevent them from complying with disclosure or turnover orders. Determining whether claims of lost or forgotten private keys are genuine or are bad faith attempts to protect assets will be a challenge for courts, forcing them to confront complex, technology-specific evidence and requiring that they determine whether that loss is bona fide or tactical “self-created impossibility.” Courts may likewise find that traditional contempt sanctions are insufficient to compel a motivated contemnor to comply with disclosure or turnover orders. To avoid expensive, time-consuming evidentiary hearings on contempt, parties and courts should consider ex ante measures, including standing orders and injunctive relief that would require disclosure of and prevent the loss of private keys once financial condition becomes relevant to any claim or defense in litigation. Legislators could create novel contempt sanctions that leverage the unique features of cryptoassets to lien sufficiently identifiable cryptoassets at issue. New laws could create registries listing identifiable cryptoassets subject to turnover orders (similar to state UCC registries), use the infrastructure and legal obligations imposed upon regulated intermediaries by the Bank Secrecy Act and Office of Foreign Asset Controls, or modify existing state law writs to direct stateregulated financial intermediaries to seize those identifiable cryptoassets pending further court order. Although these new sanctions would destroy the fungibility of the cryptoassets at issue and reduce their commercial value, they would also create new, efficient incentives. The lien against identifiable cryptoassets would have no impact on parties who actually lose their private key but would facilitate recovery of cryptoassets taken without authorization in a hack or theft. Finally, the threat of a lien that would adversely impact the value of the specific implicated cryptoassets would reduce the incentive for a bad faith contemnor to defy a turnover order and instead encourage compliance

THROW AWAY THE KEY, OR THE KEY HOLDER? COERCIVE CONTEMPT FOR LOST OR FORGOTTEN CRYPTOCURRENCY PRIVATE KEYS, OR OBSTINATE HOLDERS

Most cryptoassets natively function as bearer instruments. Whoever controls the private key for a given cryptoasset wallet generally controls the assets held by that wallet. In a civil or criminal action or as part of a governmental investigation, parties may be ordered to disclose their private keys or to transfer cryptoassets controlled by those private keys. However, people forget things and lose things, including extremely important things. Parties may lose private keys, and thereby lose control of their assets; parties acting in bad faith, or due to ideological motivation, may claim that “lost” or “forgotten” private keys prevent them from complying with disclosure or turnover orders. Determining whether claims of lost or forgotten private keys are genuine or are bad faith attempts to protect assets will be a challenge for courts, forcing them to confront complex, technology-specific evidence and requiring that they determine whether that loss is bona fide or tactical “self-created impossibility.” Courts may likewise find that traditional contempt sanctions are insufficient to compel a motivated contemnor to comply with disclosure or turnover orders. To avoid expensive, time-consuming evidentiary hearings on contempt, parties and courts should consider ex ante measures, including standing orders and injunctive relief that would require disclosure of and prevent the loss of private keys once financial condition becomes relevant to any claim or defense in litigation. Legislators could create novel contempt sanctions that leverage the unique features of cryptoassets to lien sufficiently identifiable cryptoassets at issue. New laws could create registries listing identifiable cryptoassets subject to turnover orders (similar to state UCC registries), use the infrastructure and legal obligations imposed upon regulated intermediaries by the Bank Secrecy Act and Office of Foreign Asset Controls, or modify existing state law writs to direct stateregulated financial intermediaries to seize those identifiable cryptoassets pending further court order. Although these new sanctions would destroy the fungibility of the cryptoassets at issue and reduce their commercial value, they would also create new, efficient incentives. The lien against identifiable cryptoassets would have no impact on parties who actually lose their private key but would facilitate recovery of cryptoassets taken without authorization in a hack or theft. Finally, the threat of a lien that would adversely impact the value of the specific implicated cryptoassets would reduce the incentive for a bad faith contemnor to defy a turnover order and instead encourage compliance

Population growth and status of the Nushagak Peninsula caribou herd in southwest Alaska following reintroduction, 1988 - 1993

Caribou were reintroduced to the Nushagak Peninsula, Alaska in February 1988, after an absence of over 100 years. The purpose was to reestablish caribou in the area and once again provide hunting to local residents. The Nushagak Peninsula caribou herd (NPCH) has grown rapidly from 146 reintroduced caribou to over 1000 in 6 years at an exponential rate of increase of r = 0.317 or about 38%. The dramatic growth of the herd was attributed to the initial high percentage of females in the herd, high calf production and survival, pristine range, few predators and no hunting. Abundant high quality forage on the Nushagak Peninsula is the probable reason for the enhanced body condition and high natality even among 2-year-olds, and it has most likely contributed to the high calf survival and recruitment. Lack of predators and hunting has allowed calf and adult mortality to remain low. Although the size of the NPCH has grown steadily over the past 6 years, no significant dispersal from the peninsula has occurred. The population density of the NPCH was estimated to be 1.0/km2 in 1993. We believe the herd will continue to grow, and could reach a density of 2.3/km2 by 1998, even with a 10% harvest beginning in 1995. While the current growth of the NPCH makes the réintroduction a success, the increasing density, lack of dispersal and potential for over-grazing, presents managers with hard decisions

Unfriending and Unfollowing Practices of College Student Users of Facebook

Facebook has become an integral part of college students’ lives within the United States. This study aims to provide information on how college students feel and react to information overload, information avoidance, and their privacy concerns. It also aims to find any gender differences between men and women regarding how they unfriend and unfollow other users on Facebook and what their reasoning is. The findings suggest that college students do feel a sense of information avoidance on Facebook that leads them to unfriend or unfollow offending users. Some mentioned feelings of information overload, but it was not a concern that worried them. Many of the participants mentioned that privacy concerns were important to them, but they would rather censor themselves than unfriend or unfollow users that they did not want to see their postings. Generally, the participants held negative attitudes towards Facebook, but felt obligated to keep using the social media site for convenience and to find out information about others. There were no clear differences between men and women in their unfriending and unfollowing practices.Bachelor of Scienc

Population growth, movements, and status of the Nushagak Peninsula Caribou Herd following reintroduction, 1988 - 2000

Barren ground caribou (Rangifer tarandus) were reintroduced to the Nushagak Peninsula, Alaska in February of 1988 after an absence of more than 100 years. Since reintroduction, herd growth and population dynamics have been monitored closely. At this time, there has been no significant dispersal from the herds' core range. The Nushagak Peninsula Caribou Herd (NPCH) grew rapidly from 146 reintroduced individuals to over 1000 in 13 years. Dramatic mean annual growth during the first 6 years (1988-1994) of 38% (r = 0.32) can be attributed to the high percentage of females in the initial reintroduction, high calf production and survival, exceptional range conditions, few predators, and no hunting. However, the populations' exceptional growth (peak counts of 1400) slowed and stabilized between 1996¬1998 and then decreased between 1998 and 2000. Size, body condition and weights of calves captured in 2000 were significantly lower than those captured in 1995 and 1997. Although calf production also decreased from close to 100% (1990-1995) to about 91% (1996-2000), overall calf survival continued to be high. Legal harvest began in 1995, and harvest reports have accounted for approximately 3% of population mortality annually. Although brown bears (Ursus arctos) and wolves (Canis lupus) are present, the extent of predation is unknown. Mean home range of the NPCH was 674 km2 and group sizes were greatest during post-calving aggregation in July (mean = 127). Caribou population density on the Nushagak Peninsula reached approximately 1.2 caribou/km2 in 1997 before declining to about 1.0 caribou/km2. A range survey in 1994 noted only trace utilization of lichens on the Nushagak Peninsula by caribou. A subsequent survey in 1999 found moderate to severe utilization in 46% of plots, suggesting the reintroduced herd was beginning to alter range condition. Between 1997 and 2000, both calf production and condition of 10-month-old calves declined. Calving has also been delayed in recent years. However, we suspect the reduced herd growth can be attributed to increasing hunting pressure and some dispersal of caribou from the Peninsula, not reduced range condition

The importance of genetic testing in adolescent-onset steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome - Case report

Approximately 10-20% of children and 40% of adults with idiopathic nephrotic syndrome are steroid resistant and progress to end-stage renal disease requiring dialysis or renal transplantation. In these cases, renal histology typically shows focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. Mutations in NPHS1, NPHS2, WT1, CD2AP and ACTN4 genes located on different chromosomes, expressed by glomerular podocytes, have been identified in patients with steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome. The authors report two cases of adolescent-onset steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome. Both cases had similar clinical and histopathological manifestations, with different prognosis and evolution due to different mechanisms leading to proteinuria: an acquired and a genetic form. The first case, a 16 year old girl presented the onset of the disease with massive, generalized edema, secondary hypothyroidism and high blood pressure. Evolution was favorable under cyclosporine therapy. The second case, a 13-years-old adolescent girl, presented an insidious onset of the disease with mild edema. Genetic testing revealed a mutation in the WT1 gene. The patient developed end-stage kidney failure eight months after the onset of the disease and following kidney transplant had a favorable evolution. Histological examination of the renal biopsy specimen showed focal segmental glomerulosclerosis in both cases. Conclusions: Genetic forms of nephrotic syndrome do not respond to immunosuppressive therapy and may progress to end-stage renal disease, but after kidney transplantation relapse is not expected, in contrast to the immune form. The early genetic diagnosis in steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome is time-consuming, but is important for proper clinical management of the patients, prognosis and genetic counseling of the families

Increases in body weight and nutritional status of transplanted Alaskan caribou

Body weight and natality rate in ungulates can be useful indices to nutririon, bur they may also be influenced by genetic and climatic factors. Because caribou {Rangifer tarandus granti) are distributed as discrete populations of metapopulations (i.e., herds) that are usually reproductively isolated from each other for unknown periods, it is difficult to separate the influence of genetics and nutrition on body weight, especially where historical data are lacking. To help elucidate the influence of nutrition on potential variation in body weight and natality of caribou in Alaska, we reviewed data for body weight and natality in 5 populations which resulted from Transplants to previously ungrazed ranges, or to areas where reindeer and caribou had been absent for many decades. In 2 of 5 populations body weight increased significantly, and likely increased in the other 3 populations, but data were insufficient. Natality rate increased in all 5 populations, proportion of fecund yearlings was high and 3 of the 5 newly established herds increased at about the maximum biological potential for the species (lambda=1.35). In the Adak transplant, a lactating yearling was documented. These 5 transplanted populations provide additional evidence that body weight and natality rate in Alaskan caribou are sensitive to changes in population density and relatively short-term (i.e., 10 years) increases in grazing pressure independenr of climate and genetics

Effect of cyclosporin A on proteinuria in the course of glomerulopathy associated with WT1 mutations

Denys–Drash syndrome (DDS) is characterized by progressive glomerulopathy caused by diffuse mesangial sclerosis (DMS), genitourinary defects, and a higher risk of developing Wilms’ tumor. It is commonly assumed that the DMS is unresponsive to any medications. In this report, we present a patient with Denys–Drash syndrome, in whom the cyclosporine A (CsA) was found to induce total remission. This observation and observations of other authors confirm that in genetic forms of nephrotic syndrome, the proteinuric effect of CsA may be due to a non-immunologic mechanism. We confirm the beneficial effect of CsA treatment in DDS; however, the potential nephrotoxicity of this drug will probably not allow long-term use