To Err is Human

There are many kinds of mistakes. One kind-a rational, well-intended act or decision resulting in unanticipated, negative consequences-was the focus of Allan Farnsworth\u27s previous foray into the realm of legal angst. Another kind-an act or decision prompted by an inaccurate, incomplete, or uninformed mental state and resulting in unanticipated, negative consequences- is the subject of the present book. Like its predecessor, Alleviating Mistakes does not confine itself to contract law, Farnsworth\u27s home turf; it explores criminal, tort, restitution, and other areas of substantive law as well. As such, it paints on too large a canvas to capture its entirety in these relatively few pages. I will try to trace the outlines of the discussion, rearrange and synthesize elements to make the tableau easier to comprehend, and enhance certain aspects with supplemental material-all the while understanding that, just as a description of a painting is no substitute for seeing the original, this review is no substitute for reading Farnsworth\u27s book

One for All, But None for (All of) One: Revised Article 1 of the Uniform Commercial Code (Part 1 of 2)

This article examines four major differences between Revised Article 1 of the Uniform Commercial Code and Nevada\u27s current (as of 2004) version of Article 1, codified at N.R.S. §§ 104.1101 et seq

One for All, But None for (All of) One: Revised Article 1 of the Uniform Commercial Code (Part 2 of 2)

Part One of this article examined four major differences between Revised Article 1 of the Uniform Commercial Code and Nevada\u27s current version of Article 1, codified at N.R.S. §§ 104.1101 et seq. Part Two explores how Revised Article I has fared thus far in other states and suggests what the Nevada Legislature should consider when deciding in the upcoming legislative session whether to enact Revised Article I as written, whether to enact it with revisions, or whether not to enact it at all

Transactional Economics: Victor Goldberg\u27s \u3ci\u3eFraming Contract Law\u3c/i\u3e

Professor Mark Gergen: Thank you. It is an honor to speak to this group and to be on a panel with Stewart Macaulay, Keith Rowley, and Victor Goldberg. I have an enormous amount of respect for the three. Keith had the misfortune of being a student of mine in Federal Income Tax. Framing Contract Law offers a wealth of information about familiar cases. Victor argues that in construing contracts, courts should be attentive to how people engineer contracts to minimize transaction costs. He shows that courts often err in this regard, imposing unnecessary costs. To make his case, Victor delves deeply into the background of cases, many that will be familiar to anyone who has taught contracts, and turns up much that is new and interesting. I am going to follow Victor\u27s lead by focusing on two cases that he discusses. I will briefly summarize what he says about the cases. I will then use the cases as a springboard to make my points, which are different from Victor\u27s points

SU(16) grandunification: breaking scales, proton decay and neutrino magnetic moment

We give a detailed renormalization group analysis for the SU(16) grandunified group with general breaking chains in which quarks and leptons transform separately at intermediate energies. Our analysis includes the effects of Higgs bosons. We show that the grandunification scale could be as low as $\sim 10^{8.5}$ GeV and give examples where new physics could exist at relatively low energy ($\sim 250$ GeV). We consider proton decay in this model and show that it is consistent with a low grandunification scale. We also discuss the possible generation of a neutrino magnetic moment in the range of $10^{-11}$ to $10^{-10}\mu_B$ with a very small mass by the breaking of the embedded SU(2)$_\nu$ symmetry at a low energy.Comment: (16 pages in REVTEX + 6 figures not included) OITS-49

Post-depositional fracturing and subsidence of pumice flow deposits: Lascar Volcano, Chile

Unconsolidated pyroclastic flow deposits of the 1993 eruption of Lascar Volcano, Chile, have, with time, become increasingly dissected by a network of deeply penetrating fractures. The fracture network comprises orthogonal sets of decimeter-wide linear voids that form a pseudo-polygonal grid visible on the deposit surface. In this work, we combine shallow surface geophysical imaging tools with remote sensing observations and direct field measurements of the deposit to investigate these fractures and their underlying causal mechanisms. Based on ground penetrating radar images, the fractures are observed to have propagated to depths of up to 10 m. In addition, orbiting radar interferometry shows that deposit subsidence of up to 1 cm/year occurred between 1993 and 1996 with continued subsidence occurring at a slower rate thereafter. In situ measurements show that 1 m below the surface, the 1993 deposits remain 5°C to 15°C hotter, 18 years after emplacement, than adjacent deposits. Based on the observed subsidence as well as estimated cooling rates, the fractures are inferred to be the combined result of deaeration, thermal contraction, and sedimentary compaction in the months to years following deposition. Significant environmental factors, including regional earthquakes in 1995 and 2007, accelerated settling at punctuated moments in time. The spatially variable fracture pattern relates to surface slope and lithofacies variations as well as substrate lithology. Similar fractures have been reported in other ignimbrites but are generally exposed only in cross section and are often attributed to formation by external forces. Here we suggest that such interpretations should be invoked with caution, and deformation including post-emplacement subsidence and fracturing of loosely packed ash-rich deposits in the months to years postemplacement is a process inherent in the settling of pyroclastic material

D-Penicillamine Metabolism in an In-Vivo Model of Inflamed Synovium

Oxidation to disulphides is the chief metabolic transformation of D-penicillamine (D-pen) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Oxidation also occurs in many biological fluids in-vitro. Reduction of oxygen species may accompany the oxidation of D-pen under appropriate conditions and may mediate the anti-rheumatic action of D-pen. The transformation of D-pen therefore was examined in an in-vivo model of inflamed synovium. Subcutaneous air-pouches of groups of rats were treated with saline, 10% serum or 10% zymosan activated serum (ZAS). The transformation of D-pen to low molecular weight (LMW) metabolites and protein conjugates within the pouch was then assessed. The concentrations of total protein were significantly higher in the serum and ZAS-treated groups than in the saline-treated group and the inflammatory cell counts were significantly higher in the ZAS-treated group than in either of the other groups, as expected. D-pen oxidised rapidly to LMW metabolites and smaller amounts of D-pen-protein conjugate (D-pen-protein) in the air pouches of all animals. The rates of oxidation to LMW metabolites were greater in the ZAS-treated animals than the saline-treated group (p less than 0.005). The concentrations of D-pen-protein conjugate were also greater for the serum-treated and ZAS-treated animals than for the saline controls (p less than 0.005 in each case) at all times. Oxidation of D-pen therefore occurs at this site of inflammation and is influenced by local conditions. This may be important to understanding the forms in which D-pen exists in inflamed synovial joints and the way it may exert its antirheumatic activity