Private Revenge and its Relation to Punishment

In contrast to the vast literature on retributive theories of punishment, discussions of private revenge are rare in moral philosophy. This paper reviews some examples, from both classical and recent writers. It detects, both in the philosophical tradition and in contemporary moral discourse, uncertainty and equivocation over the ethical significance of acts of revenge, and in particular over their possible resemblances, in motive, purpose or justification, to acts of lawful punishment. A key problem for the coherence of our ethical conception of revenge, it suggests, is the consideration that certain acts of revenge may be just (at least in the minimal sense that the victim of revenge has no grounds for complaint against the revenger) and yet be generally agreed to be morally wrong. It argues that the challenge of explaining adequately why private revenge is morally wrong poses particular difficulty for purely retributive theories of punishment, since without invoking consequentialist reasons it does not seem possible adequately to motivate an objection to just and proportionate acts of revenge. The paper concludes by identifying some of the directions in which further reflection on the moral and political significance of revenge might proceed

Uncertainty Analysis of Heat Transfer to Supercritical Hydrogen in Cooling Channels

Sound understanding of the cooling efficiency of supercritical hydrogen is crucial to the development of high pressure thrust chambers for regeneratively cooled LOX/LH2 rocket engines. This paper examines historical heat transfer correlations for supercritical hydrogen and the effects of uncertainties in hydrogen property data. It is shown that uncertainty due to property data alone can be as high as 10%. Previous heated tube experiments with supercritical hydrogen are summarized, and data from a number of heated tube experiments are analyzed to evaluate conditions for which the available correlations are valid

High Affinity Mannotetraose as an Alternative to Dextran in ConA Based Fluorescent Affinity Glucose Assay Due to Improved FRET Efficiency

Diabetes mellitus affects millions of people worldwide and requires that individuals tightly self-regulate their blood glucose levels to minimize the associated secondary complications. Continuous monitoring devices potentially offer patients a long-term means to tightly monitor their glucose levels. In recent years, fluorescent affinity sensors based on lectins (e.g., Concanavalin A (ConA)) have been implemented in such devices. Traditionally, these sensors pair the lectin with a multivalent ligand, like dextran, in order to develop a competitive binding assay that changes its fluorescent properties in response to the surrounding glucose concentrations. This work introduces a new type of fluorescent ligand for FRET-based assays in an attempt to improve the sensitivity of such assays. This ligand is rationally designed to present a core trimannose structure and a donor fluorophore in close proximity to one another. This design decreases the distance between the FRET donor and the FRET acceptors on ConA to maximize the FRET efficiency upon binding of the ligand to ConA. This work specifically compares the FRET efficiency and sensitivity of this new competing ligand with a traditional dextran ligand, showing that the new ligand has improved characteristics. This work also tested the long-term thermal stability of the assay based on this new competing ligand and displayed a MARD of less than 10% across the physiological range of glucose after 30 days incubation at 37 °C. Ultimately, this new type of fluorescent ligand has the potential to significantly improve the accuracy of continuous glucose monitoring devices based on the competitive binding sensing approach

Prioritizing Preferable Locations for Increasing Urban Tree Canopy in New York City

This paper presents a set of Geographic Information System (GIS) methods for identifying and prioritizing tree planting sites in urban environments. It uses an analytical approach created by a University of Vermont service-learning class called “GIS Analysis of New York City\u27s Ecology” that was designed to provide research support to the MillionTreesNYC tree planting campaign. These methods prioritize tree planting sites based on need (whether or not trees can help address specific issues in the community) and suitability (biophysical constraints and planting partners’ existing programmatic goals). Criteria for suitability and need were based on input from three New York City tree-planting organizations. Customized spatial analysis tools and maps were created to show where each organization may contribute to increasing urban tree canopy (UTC) while also achieving their own programmatic goals. These methods and associated custom tools can help decision-makers optimize urban forestry investments with respect to biophysical and socioeconomic outcomes in a clear and accountable manner. Additionally, the framework described here may be used in other cities, can track spatial characteristics of urban ecosystems over time, and may enable further tool development for collaborative decision-making in urban natural resource management

Movement of Walleyes in Lakes Erie and St. Clair Inferred from Tag Return and Fisheries Data

Lake Erie walleyes Sander vitreus support important fisheries and have been managed as one stock, although preliminary tag return and genetic analyses suggest the presence of multiple stocks that migrate among basins within Lake Erie and into other portions of the Great Lakes. We examined temporal and spatial movement and abundance patterns of walleye stocks in the three basins of Lake Erie and in Lake St. Clair with the use of tag return and sport and commercial catchâ perâ unit effort (CPUE) data from 1990 to 2001. Based on summer tag returns, western basin walleyes migrated to the central and eastern basins of Lake Erie and to Lake St. Clair and southern Lake Huron, while fish in the central and eastern basins of Lake Erie and in Lake St. Clair were primarily caught within the basins where they were tagged. Seasonal changes in sport and commercial effort and CPUE in Lake Erie confirmed the walleye movements suggested by tag return data. Walleyes tagged in the western basin but recaptured in the central or eastern basin of Lake Erie were generally larger (or older) than those recaptured in the western basin of Lake Erie or in Lake St. Clair. Within spawning stocks, female walleyes had wider ranges of movement than males and there was considerable variation in movement direction, minimum distance moved (mean distance between tagging sites and recapture locations), and mean length among individual spawning stocks. Summer temperatures in the western basin often exceeded the optimal temperature (20â 23°C) for growth of large walleyes, and the migration of western basin walleyes might represent a sizeâ dependent response to warm summer temperatures. Cooler temperatures and abundant softâ rayed fish probably contributed to an energetically favorable foraging habitat in the central and eastern basins that attracted large walleyes during summer.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/141620/1/tafs0539.pd

Exploring the interactions underlying flow states: A connecting analysis of flow occurrence in European Tour golfers

Objectives: Research to date has identified a range of factors suggested to facilitate flow states in sport. However, less attention has focused on how exactly those facilitating factors influence the occurrence of flow. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the specific ways in which such facilitators influenced flow occurrence in European Tour golfers. Design: Qualitative design. Method: Ten full-time golfers from the European Tour (M age=37; SD=13.08) participated in semi-structured interviews investigating the occurrence of their flow states. Data were interpreted using an iterative process of thematic and connecting analyses. Results: Ten facilitators of flow were identified, of which commitment and the caddie have not been reported previously. Twenty four connecting links were identified in the data, through which the caddie, effective preparation, and high-quality performance appeared to be most influential for flow occurrence. Confidence and concentration also emerged as key constructs underlying the flow experience in this setting. Conclusion: A central contribution of this study is the identification of ways in which facilitating factors could influence flow occurrence in elite golf. This process adds detail to understanding of flow occurrence, and moves beyond simply identifying factors which are associated with the experience. As such, connecting analysis is proposed as an additional strategy for qualitatively investigating flow occurrence in sport. Results are discussed in relation to previous literature, and recommendations are identified for researchers, athletes, coaches and practitioners