Torts—Products Liability Cases—Privity No Longer Required

Goldberg v. Kollsman Instrument Corp., 12 N.Y.2d 432, 240 N.Y.S.2d 592, 191 N.E.2d 81 (1963)

Torts—Maintenance Of Abandoned House In State Of Disrepair Not Basis For Absolute Liability

Beauckamp v. New York City Housing Authority, 12 N.Y.2d 400, 240 N.Y.S.2d 15, 190 N.E.2d 412 (1963)

SEGMENTING NICHE GOAT-MEAT MARKETS

This research report provides an examination of the ratings of an important sensory attribute of chevon (goat meat) with that of beef and pork. Results from an analysis of variance of comparative ratings of the flavor of chevon and that of beef and pork suggest that selected demographic characteristics of U.S. consumers influenced the ratings of chevon'Â’s flavor with that of beef and pork. The findings indicate that Hispanics, blacks, and females should not be treated as homogenous niche markets. The results suggest that there are distinct subdivision preferences within and between these consumer partitions.Agribusiness,

Feigned Consensus: Usurping the Law in Shaken Baby Syndrome/Abusive Head Trauma Prosecutions

Few medico-legal matters have generated as much controversy--both in the medical literature and in the courtroom--as Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS), now known more broadly as Abusive Head Trauma (AHT). The controversies are of enormous significance in the law because child abuse pediatricians claim, on the basis of a few non-specific medical findings supported by a weak and methodologically flawed research base, to be able to “diagnose” child abuse, and thereby to provide all of the evidence necessary to satisfy all of the legal elements for criminal prosecution (or removal of children from their parents). It is a matter, therefore, in which medical opinion claims to fully occupy the legal field. As controversies flare up increasingly in the legal arena, child abuse pediatricians and prosecutors now respond by claiming both that there is actually no real controversy about SBS/AHT, and that it is a purely medical “diagnosis” and not a legal conclusion, so testimony in support of the SBS hypothesis should not be challenged in court. This article, coauthored by four law professors, two physicians, and a physicist, demonstrates that there is very much a live controversy about the SBS/AHT hypothesis and maintains that, under traditional principles of evidence law, physicians should not be permitted to “diagnose” abuse in court (as opposed to identifying specific symptoms or medical findings)

Production of Gravitational Waves in the nMSSM

During a strongly first-order phase transition gravitational waves are produced by bubble collisions and turbulent plasma motion. We analyze the relevant characteristics of the electroweak phase transition in the nMSSM to determine the generated gravitational wave signal. Additionally, we comment on correlations between the production of gravitational waves and baryogenesis. We conclude that the gravitational wave relic density in this model is generically too small to be detected in the near future by the LISA experiment. We also consider the case of a "Standard Model" with dimension-six Higgs potential, which leads to a slightly stronger signal of gravitational waves.Comment: 29 pages, 7 figures; published version, some comments adde

Effects of ischemia on epicardial segment shortening

To evaluate the effects of nontransmural ischemia on epicardial contractile function, we implanted sonomicrometers in 15 open-chest, anesthetized (halothane) dogs. One cylindrical crystal (radiating ultrasound 360[deg]) was used as a transmitter for three conventional flat plate crystals arrayed to measure epicardial segment shortening along three different axes that were deviated 0[deg] (parallel), 45[deg] (oblique), and 90[deg] (perpendicular) from surface fiber orientation in the anteriorapical or posterior-basal left ventricle. During baseline conditions, epicardial shortening was maximal parallel with fiber orientation. Shortening decreased in a non-linear manner as deviation from fiber orientation increased, but there were significant differences between the two left ventricular regions suggesting that more substantial lateral strain occurs in the anterior-apical than the posterior-basal area. During coronary inflow restriction, changes in epicardial segment shortening also varied greatly depending on location and alignment. At levels of wall thickening impairment associated with normal subepicardial perfusion, changes in epicardial function were restricted to the segments aligned perpendicular to fiber orientation whereas the parallel and oblique segments displayed moderate dysfunction or none at all. Thus, transmural tethering modifies epicardial segmental motion during coronary inflow restriction, but the severity of the influence depends on the alignment and location of the epicardial measurements.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/29525/1/0000612.pd

Flaxseed-Derived Enterolactone Is Inversely Associated with Tumor Cell Proliferation in Men with Localized Prostate Cancer

Enterolactone and enterodiol, mammalian lignans derived from dietary sources such as flaxseed, sesame seeds, kale, broccoli, and apricots, may impede tumor proliferation by inhibiting activation of nuclear factor kappa B (NF?B) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). We examined the associations between urinary enterolactone and enterodiol with prostatic tumor expression of NF?B, VEGF, and Ki67 among 147 patients with prostate cancer who participated in a presurgical trial of flaxseed supplementation (30?g/day) for ?30 days. Urinary enterolignans and tissue biomarkers were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography and immunohistochemistry, respectively. After supplementation, we observed significant correlations between intakes of plant lignan and urinary concentrations of total enterolignans (?=0.677, P<.0001), enterolactone (?=0.676, P<.0001), and enterodiol (?=0.628, P<.0001). Importantly, we observed that total urinary enterolignans and enterolactone were significantly and inversely correlated with Ki67 in the tumor tissue (?=?0.217, P=.011, and ?=?0.230, P=.007, respectively), and a near-significant inverse association was observed for enterodiol (?=?0.159, P=.064). An inverse association was observed between enterolactone and VEGF (?=?0.143, P=.141), although this did not reach statistical significance. We did not observe an association between enterolignans and NF?B. In conclusion, flaxseed-derived enterolignans may hinder cancer cell proliferation via VEGF-associated pathways.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/140111/1/jmf.2012.0159.pd

Increased burden of familial-associated early-onset cancer risk among minority americans compared to non-latino whites

Background: The role of race/ethnicity in genetic predisposition of early-onset cancers can be estimated by comparing family-based cancer concordance rates among ethnic groups. Methods: We used linked California health registries to evaluate the relative cancer risks for first-degree relatives of patients diagnosed between ages 0 and 26, and the relative risks of developing distinct second primary malignancies (SPMs). From 1989 to 2015, we identified 29,631 cancer patients and 62,863 healthy family members. We calculated the standardized incident ratios (SIRs) of early-onset primary cancers diagnosed in proband siblings and mothers, as well as SPMs detected among early-onset patients. Analyses were stratified by self-identified race/ethnicity. Results: Given probands with cancer, there were increased relative risks of any cancer for siblings and mothers (SIR = 3.32; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.85–3.85) and of SPMs (SIR = 7.27; 95% CI: 6.56–8.03). Given a proband with solid cancer, both Latinos (SIR = 4.98; 95% CI: 3.82–6.39) and non-Latino Blacks (SIR = 7.35; 95% CI: 3.36–13.95) exhibited significantly higher relative risk of any cancer in siblings and mothers when compared to non-Latino White subjects (SIR = 3.02; 95% CI: 2.12–4.16). For hematologic cancers, higher familial risk was evident for Asian/Pacific Islanders (SIR = 7.56; 95% CI: 3.26–14.90) compared to non-Latino whites (SIR = 2.69; 95% CI: 1.62–4.20). Conclusions: The data support a need for increased attention to the genetics of early-onset cancer predisposition and environmental factors in race/ethnic minority families in the United States.</p

The Hubble Deep Field South Flanking Fields

As part of the Hubble Deep Field South program, a set of shorter 2-orbit observations were obtained of the area adjacent to the deep fields. The WFPC2 flanking fields cover a contiguous solid angle of 48 square arcminutes. Parallel observations with the STIS and NICMOS instruments produce a patchwork of additional fields with optical and near-infrared (1.6 micron) response. Deeper parallel exposures with WFPC2 and NICMOS were obtained when STIS observed the NICMOS deep field. These deeper fields are offset from the rest, and an extended low surface brightness object is visible in the deeper WFPC2 flanking field. In this data paper, which serves as an archival record of the project, we discuss the observations and data reduction, and present SExtractor source catalogs and number counts derived from the data. Number counts are broadly consistent with previous surveys from both ground and space. Among other things, these flanking field observations are useful for defining slit masks for spectroscopic follow-up over a wider area around the deep fields, for studying large-scale structure that extends beyond the deep fields, for future supernova searches, and for number counts and morphological studies, but their ultimate utility will be defined by the astronomical community.Comment: 46 pages, 15 figures. Images and full catalogs available via the HDF-S at http://www.stsci.edu/ftp/science/hdfsouth/hdfs.html at present. The paper is accepted for the February 2003 Astronomical Journal. Full versions of the catalogs will also be available on-line from AJ after publicatio