Adding Epicycles: The Inconsistent Use Test in Adverse Possession Law

The common law courts in Ontario developed the Inconsistent Use Test (IUT) to assess claims of adverse possession. The IUT, however, often produces counter-intuitive results, which has led other jurisdictions to reject it and caused the Ontario courts to craft numerous exceptions and qualifications to the test that have left the state of the law on adverse possession very unclear. This article argues that the IUT actually represents an unconscious attempt by the Ontario judiciary to develop a functional equivalent to the civil law principle of interversion, currently found in article 923 of the Civil Code of Quebec (CCO). It further explores how the rise and fall of the IUT in a single generation reveals some of the weaknesses of inductive law-making under the common law tradition

Adding Epicycles: The Inconsistent Use Test in Adverse Possession Law

The common law courts in Ontario developed the Inconsistent Use Test (IUT) to assess claims of adverse possession. The IUT, however, often produces counter-intuitive results, which has led other jurisdictions to reject it and caused the Ontario courts to craft numerous exceptions and qualifications to the test that have left the state of the law on adverse possession very unclear. This article argues that the IUT actually represents an unconscious attempt by the Ontario judiciary to develop a functional equivalent to the civil law principle of interversion, currently found in article 923 of the Civil Code of Quebec (CCO). It further explores how the rise and fall of the IUT in a single generation reveals some of the weaknesses of inductive law-making under the common law tradition

Appealing Outcomes: A Study for the Overturn Rate of Canada\u27s Appellate Courts

This commentary discusses the rate at which Canada\u27s appellate courts are overturned by the Supreme Court of Canada. By deconstructing the overturn rate, the authors identify and compare various factors that affect the rate at which appeals are pursued, considered, and allowed. The data reveal that decisions from the British Columbia, Quebec, and Newfoundland & Labrador courts of appeal are overturned more often than those from their counterparts. Conversely, the Ontario and Saskatchewan courts of appeal exhibit overturn rates below the national average. The analysis suggests that the underlying drivers giving rise to the unusually high or low overturn rates, however, differ from province to province, and this provides possible avenues for further investigation

Appealing Outcomes: A Study for the Overturn Rate of Canada\u27s Appellate Courts

This commentary discusses the rate at which Canada\u27s appellate courts are overturned by the Supreme Court of Canada. By deconstructing the overturn rate, the authors identify and compare various factors that affect the rate at which appeals are pursued, considered, and allowed. The data reveal that decisions from the British Columbia, Quebec, and Newfoundland & Labrador courts of appeal are overturned more often than those from their counterparts. Conversely, the Ontario and Saskatchewan courts of appeal exhibit overturn rates below the national average. The analysis suggests that the underlying drivers giving rise to the unusually high or low overturn rates, however, differ from province to province, and this provides possible avenues for further investigation

Nearer heart’s desire : theatre, directing and the process of cultural deconstruction and reconstruction

There are two great passions that run through my life: making theatre and examining how our society’s culture impacts our lives. This pursuit stems from a desire to identify and change the inequities embedded in our culture. As an artist and activist, I create theatrical experiences that redefine familiar narratives and their contexts, providing opportunities to re-examine our prejudices and cultural beliefs. In this thesis, I will analyze selected productions I’ve directed while attending the University of Texas at Austin in order to define my process for making work engaged in cultural deconstruction and reconstructionTheatre and Danc

Distributed Generation: Cleaner, Cheaper, Stronger - Industrial Efficiency in the Changing Utility Landscape

Electricity is illuminating, but its generation, transmission, and distribution have long been opaque. This report looks at how the once static utility industry is becoming a dynamic and transformative opportunity for the nation's economic, environmental, and energy future.An array of technological, competitive, and market forces are changing how the U.S. generates power and the ways that Americans interact with the electric grid. A century-old centralized system is yielding to advanced, distributed-energy generation capabilities -- in which power is produced at or near the place where it is consumed -- that allow the industry to respond to new market opportunities and evolving consumer desires.The report concludes with an evaluation of the impact of key regulatory and legislative policies on the deployment of industrial energy efficiency technologies in order to help federal policymakers effectively encourage adoption of these systems. The Pew Charitable Trusts commissioned ICF International Inc. to model these policies and found that implementation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Power Plan and an improved federal investment tax credit could result in a 27 percent increase in adoption by 2030

The crystal structures of macrophage migration inhibitory factor from Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium berghei

Malaria, caused by Plasmodium falciparum and related parasites, is responsible for millions of deaths each year, mainly from complications arising from the blood stages of its life cycle. Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF), a protein expressed by the parasite during these stages, has been characterized in mammals as a cytokine involved in a broad spectrum of immune responses. It also possesses two catalytic activities, a tautomerase and an oxidoreductase, though the physiological significance of neither reaction is known. Here, we have determined the crystal structure of MIF from two malaria parasites, Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium berghei at 2.2 Å and 1.8 Å, respectively. The structures have an α/β fold and each reveals a trimer, in agreement with the results of analytical ultracentrifugation. We observed open and closed active sites, these being distinguished by movements of proline-1, the catalytic base in the tautomerase reaction. These states correlate with the covalent modification of cysteine 2 to form a mercaptoethanol adduct, an observation confirmed by mass spectrometry. The Plasmodium MIFs have a different pattern of conserved cysteine residues to the mammalian MIFs and the side chain of Cys58, which is implicated in the oxidoreductase activity, is buried. This observation and the evident redox reactivity of Cys2 suggest quite different oxidoreductase characteristics. Finally, we show in pull-down assays that Plasmodium MIF binds to the cell surface receptor CD74, a known mammalian MIF receptor implying that parasite MIF has the ability to interfere with, or modulate, host MIF activity through a competitive binding mechanism

Macrophage CD74 contributes to MIF-induced pulmonary inflammation

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>MIF is a critical mediator of the host defense, and is involved in both acute and chronic responses in the lung. Neutralization of MIF reduces neutrophil accumulation into the lung in animal models. We hypothesized that MIF, in the alveolar space, promotes neutrophil accumulation via activation of the CD74 receptor on macrophages.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>To determine whether macrophage CD74 surface expression contributes MIF-induced neutrophil accumulation, we instilled recombinant MIF (r-MIF) into the trachea of mice in the presence or absence of anti-CD74 antibody or the MIF specific inhibitor, ISO-1. Using macrophage culture, we examined the downstream pathways of MIF-induced activation that lead to neutrophil accumulation.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Intratracheal instillation of r-MIF increased the number of neutrophils as well as the concentration of macrophage inflammatory protein 2 (MIP-2) and keratinocyte-derived chemokine (KC) in BAL fluids. CD74 was found to be expressed on the surface of alveolar macrophages, and MIF-induced MIP-2 accumulation was dependent on p44/p42 MAPK in macrophages. Anti-CD74 antibody inhibited MIF-induced p44/p42 MAPK phosphorylation and MIP-2 release by macrophages. Furthermore, we show that anti-CD74 antibody inhibits MIF-induced alveolar accumulation of MIP-2 (control IgG vs. CD74 Ab; 477.1 ± 136.7 vs. 242.2 ± 102.2 pg/ml, p < 0.05), KC (1796.2 ± 436.1 vs. 1138.2 ± 310.2 pg/ml, p < 0.05) and neutrophils (total number of neutrophils, 3.33 ± 0.93 × 10⁴vs. 1.90 ± 0.61 × 10⁴, p < 0.05) in our mouse model.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>MIF-induced neutrophil accumulation in the alveolar space results from interaction with CD74 expressed on the surface of alveolar macrophage cells. This interaction induces p44/p42 MAPK activation and chemokine release. The data suggest that MIF and its receptor, CD74, may be useful targets to reduce neutrophilic lung inflammation, and acute lung injury.</p