270 research outputs found
Shortening Agency and Judicial Vacancies Through Filibuster Reform? An Examination of Confirmation Rates and Delays from 1981 to 2014
This Article explores the failure of nominations and the delay in confirmation of successful nominations across recent administrations, with a focus on the November 2013 change to the Senate voting rules. Using a new database of all nonroutine civilian nominations from January 1981 to December 2014, there are several key findings. First, approximately one-quarter of submitted nominations between 1981 and 2014 were not confirmed, with a higher failure rate for the last two Presidents. Nominations to courts of appeals and independent regulatory commissions had much higher failure rates than other entities. Second, for confirmed nominations, the time to confirmation has been increasing. President Obamaâs nominees faced confirmation delays that were more than twice as long as President Reaganâs choices. Failure rates of nominations did not always go hand-in-hand with confirmation delays for successful nominations. Although more nominations failed in divided government, confirmation delays were roughly equal when different parties controlled the Senate and the White House. Third, comparing the year after the change to the filibuster rules to the preceding year, confirmation times for the courts decreased but increased for all types of agencies. For many agencies and agency positions, however, significantly fewer nominations failed after the voting change. Even so, these improvements in 2014âto the confirmation rates for both agency and judicial nominees and to the confirmation pace for judicial picksâare relative: for the average nomination, the failure rate was higher and the confirmation process was slower than under preceding administrations. Fourth, nearly 30 percent of nominees hailed from the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia, raising concerns that the confirmation process may be narrowing the pool of top officials. This Article suggests some possible explanations for the findings and further avenues of investigation, and also proposes some reforms
Technology as Social Instruction: Ursula Franklin and the Dematerialized Fashion Marketplace
COVID-19 necessitated the accelerated growth of a powerful and aggressive new form of fashion retail: online, device-based consumption. This online migration has radically altered modern retail, from invasive marketing to engage consumers, through virtual selection and ultimately the dematerialization of the body and understanding of the self in relation to others. Canadian physicist and technology theorist Dr Ursula Franklin provided valuable insight into the processes wherein emergent technology and human behaviours enmesh within quotidian engagements. In her (brilliant) 1989 Massey College lecture series The Real World of Technology (1999) stated of the adoption of nascent technologies that âMany technological innovations have been introduced in order to change the boundaries of human and social activities with respect to time and spaceâ (194). Time and space have certainly been disrupted with the technological migration of the boutique, and this virtualizing of fashion has in turn dematerialized garments completely. Thus, the engagement is primarily with the technology and not the tactile. The impacts of this are staggering as current models used for fashion manufacturing are deeply imbricated into transglobal âFast Fashionâ supply chains, a process extremely harmful to both workers and environment
Brevity, Speed, and Deference: An Account from the Williams Chambers
One of the leading books on administrative law advocates judicial review for âsound governance.âReviewing the book while sitting on the D.C. Circuit, Judge Williams posited that, even if âjudges are smarter than agency heads, or have more time on their hands, or have cleverer clerks,â the proper institutional role requires more deference. Divining âsound governanceâ is not for courts. The Judge concluded by quoting Miltonâs poem about the role of the blind: âThey also serve who only stand and waite.
Snus: a compelling harm reduction alternative to cigarettes
Snus is an oral smokeless tobacco product which is usually placed behind the upper lip, either in a loose form or in portioned sachets, and is primarily used in Sweden and Norway. The purpose of this review is to examine the reported effects of snus use in relation to specified health effects, namely lung cancer, cardiovascular disease, pancreatic cancer, diabetes, oral cancer and non-neoplastic oral disease. The review also examines the harm reduction potential of snus as an alternative to cigarettes by comparing the prevalence of snus use and cigarette smoking, and the reported incidence of tobacco-related diseases across European Union countries. The scientific literature generally indicates that the use of snus is not a significant risk factor for developing lung cancer, cardiovascular disease, pancreatic cancer or oral cancer. Studies investigating snus use and diabetes have reported that high consumption of snus (estimated as being four or more cans per week) may be associated with a higher risk of developing diabetes or components of metabolic syndrome; however, overall results are not conclusive. Snus use is associated with the presence of non-neoplastic oral mucosal lesions which are reported to heal rapidly once use has stopped. The most recent Eurobarometer data from 2017 reported that Sweden had the lowest prevalence of daily cigarette use in the European Union at 5% whilst daily âoral tobaccoâ use was reported to be 20%. European data published by the World Health Organisation in 2018 indicated that Sweden had the lowest rate of tobacco-related mortality and the lowest incidence of male lung cancer. Overall, prevalence statistics and epidemiological data indicate that the use of snus confers a significant harm reduction benefit which is reflected in the comparatively low levels of tobacco-related disease in Sweden when compared with the rest of Europe. The available scientific data, including long-term population studies conducted by independent bodies, demonstrates that the health risks associated with snus are considerably lower than those associated with cigarette smoking
Processing carbon nanotubes with holographic optical tweezers
We report the first demonstration that carbon nanotubes can be trapped and
manipulated by optical tweezers. This observation is surprising because
individual nanotubes are substantially smaller than the wavelength of light,
and thus should not be amenable to optical trapping. Even so, nanotube bundles,
and perhaps even individual nanotubes, can be transported at high speeds,
deposited onto substrates, untangled, and selectively ablated, all with visible
light. The use of holographic optical tweezers, capable of creating hundreds of
independent traps simultaneously, suggests opportunities for highly parallel
nanotube processing with light.Comment: 3 pages, 1 figur
Shape-Selective Supramolecular Capsules for Actinide Precipitation and Separation
Improving actinide separations is key to reducing barriers to medical and industrial actinide isotope production and to addressing the challenges associated with the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel. Here, we report the first example of a supramolecular anion recognition process that can achieve this goal. We have designed a preorganized triamidoarene receptor that induces quantitative precipitation of the early actinides Th(IV), Np(IV), and Pu(IV) from industrially relevant conditions through the formation of self-assembled hydrogen-bonded capsules. Selectivity over the later An(III) elements is shown through modulation of the nitric acid concentration, and no precipitation of actinyl or transition-metal ions occurs. The Np, Pu, and Am precipitates were characterized structurally by single-crystal X-ray diffraction and reveal shape specificity of the internal hydrogen-bonding array for the encapsulated hexanitratometalates. This work complements ion-exchange resins for 5f-element separations and illustrates the significant potential of supramolecular separation methods that target anionic actinide species
A Simple Supramolecular Approach to Recycling Rare Earth Elements
The rapid increase in demand for rare-earth elements reflects their crucial roles in climate critical technologies. However, the lack of simple solutions for the separation of these metals from waste materials and ores represents a significant barrier to sustainable and environmentally benign rare-earth production. We report the application of a supramolecular approach to this challenge, using a triamido-arene receptor to selectively precipitate f-elements through their encapsulation as hexanitratometalates. Single-step, near quantitative recovery of Nd/Pr directly from magnet scrap was observed without the need for pH adjustment or pretreatment of the acidic leach solution. The rare-earth nitrate was rapidly stripped from the hostâguest precipitate with water and the receptor recycled for further use. Near quantitative and highly selective uptake of LaâNd and Th from lateritic rare-earth ores was also achieved with no uptake of any non-f-element. These results show that targeting f-element metalates in separations chemistry can deliver exceptional and unique selectivity that may have significant consequences in the sustainable production of the rare-earth elements
A retrospective cohort study of predictors and interventions that influence cooperation with mask induction in children
BackgroundUncooperative pediatric mask induction is linked to perioperative anxiety. Although some risk factors for uncooperative inductions have been reported, there are no large cohort studies that identify intrinsic patient characteristics associated with cooperation.AimThe primary aim was to identify patient characteristics associated with cooperative mask inductions. The secondary aim was to determine whether preoperative interventions were associated with increased cooperation.MethodsThis retrospective cohort study included patients 2- 11ĂÂ years old and ASA class I- IV who underwent mask induction. Our primary outcome of interest was cooperation with mask induction, which was correlated against the Induction Compliance Checklist. The variables analyzed for association with cooperation were age, sex, ASA class, class of surgery, preferred language, and race. Interventions examined for association with induction cooperation included premedication with midazolam, exposure to distraction technology, parental presence, and the presence of a Child Life Specialist. Multivariate mixed- effects logistic regression was used to assess the relationship between patient characteristics and cooperation. A separate multivariate mixed- effects logistic regression was used to examine the association between preoperative interventions and cooperation.Results9692 patients underwent 23ĂÂ 474 procedures during the study period. 3372 patients undergoing 5980 procedures met inclusion criteria. The only patient characteristic associated with increased cooperation was age (OR 1.20, p- value 0.03). Involvement of Child Life Specialists was associated with increased cooperation (OR 4.44, p- valueĂÂ =ĂÂ 0.048) while parental/guardian presence was associated with decreased cooperation (OR 0.38, p- valueĂÂ =ĂÂ 0.002).ConclusionIn this cohort, increasing age was the only patient characteristic found to be associated with increased cooperation with mask induction. Preoperative intervention by a Child Life Specialists was the sole intervention associated with improved cooperation.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/162757/2/pan13930.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/162757/1/pan13930_am.pd
The spatial distribution and origin of the FUV excess in early-type galaxies
We present surface photometry of a sample of 52 galaxies from the GALEX and
2MASS data archives, these include 32 normal elliptical galaxies, 10
ellipticals with weak Liner or other nuclear activity, and 10 star forming
ellipticals or early-type spirals. We examine the spatial distribution of the
Far Ultra-Violet excess in these galaxies, and its correlation with dynamical
and stellar population properties of the galaxies. From aperture photometry we
find that all galaxies except for recent major remnants and galaxies with
ongoing star formation show a positive gradient in the (FUV-NUV) colour
determined from the GALEX images. The logarithmic gradient does not correlate
with any stellar population parameter, but it does correlate with the central
velocity dispersion. The strength of the excess on the other hand, correlates
with both [alpha/Fe] and [Z/H], but more strongly with the former. We derive
models of the underlying stellar population from the 2MASS H-band images, and
the residual of the image from this model reveals a map of the centrally
concentrated FUV excess. We examine a possible hypothesis for generating the
FUV excess and the radial gradient in its strength, involving a helium
abundance gradient set up early in the formation process of the galaxies. If
this hypothesis is correct, the persistence of the gradients to the present day
places a strong limit on the importance of dry mergers in the formation of
ellipticals.Comment: 36 pages, accepted for publication in MNRAS. Appendices will appear
in online journal only. This version has reduced resolution for the figure in
Appendix B to comply with arXiv size limit
Using H-alpha Morphology and Surface Brightness Fluctuations to Age-Date Star Clusters in M83
We use new WFC3 observations of the nearby grand design spiral galaxy M83 to
develop two independent methods for estimating the ages of young star clusters.
The first method uses the physical extent and morphology of Halpha emission to
estimate the ages of clusters younger than tau ~10 Myr. It is based on the
simple premise that the gas in very young (tau < few Myr) clusters is largely
coincident with the cluster stars, is in a small, ring-like structure
surrounding the stars in slightly older clusters (e.g., tau ~5 Myr), and is in
a larger ring-like bubble for still older clusters (i.e., ~5-10 Myr). The
second method is based on an observed relation between pixel-to-pixel flux
variations within clusters and their ages. This method relies on the fact that
the brightest individual stars in a cluster are most prominent at ages around
10 Myr, and fall below the detection limit (i.e., M_V < -3.5) for ages older
than about 100 Myr. These two methods are the basis for a new morphological
classification system which can be used to estimate the ages of star clusters
based on their appearance. We compare previous age estimates of clusters in M83
determined from fitting UBVI Halpha measurements using predictions from stellar
evolutionary models with our new morphological categories and find good
agreement at the ~95% level. The scatter within categories is ~0.1 dex in log
tau for young clusters (10 Myr) clusters. A
by-product of this study is the identification of 22 "single-star" HII regions
in M83, with central stars having ages ~4 Myr.Comment: 33 pages, 10 figures, 3 tables; published in March Ap
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