Civil Procedure and Contract Law—Contractual Forum-Selection Clauses in Erie Cases: More than Substance or Procedure

The enforceability of forum-selection clauses is one of the most litigated jurisdictional issues in federal district courts. In a globalized society, forum-selection clauses reduce uncertainty. However, they present unique problems and, although they are liberally enforced by state and federal courts, forum-selection clauses are not always enforced by the forum court. Enforcement of forum-selection clauses is especially complex in diversity actions in federal court. Forum-selection clauses appear substantive and often have substantive effects; however, they operate procedurally. Federal courts unanimously hold that the validity of a forum-selection clause is a procedural question and therefore the question of validity is decided by federal law. However, federal courts were not always unanimous on this issue, and a minority once held that the validity of a forum-selection clause should be decided by state law because it is a contracts issue. This note argues that the former minority view reached the correct conclusion, but for the wrong reasons. In support of this argument, the note provides a background on the applicable law and the development of the Erie doctrine, the evolution of forum-selection clauses and their treatment in federal diversity cases, and the controversy over Erie\u27s application to forum-selection clauses which are the result of flawed legal conclusions by courts and legal scholars at almost every state in the analysis. The note concludes that adherence to the Erie doctrine requires that state rather than federal law should determine the enforceability of forum-selection clauses, despite being an issue of procedure because of their special relationship to the substantive rights inherent in contracts

Mental Visualization of Three-Dimensional Space: New Tools and Challenges in Building Design Education

As a future building design professional, a student’s ability to mentally “picture” second and third dimensional concepts is important. Learning the fundamentals of mental visualization is tantamount to laying the foundation for a building. Sketching, one of the skills required to bring a building concept to life, helps the student rapidly record their first brilliant thought. Though modern CAD software has the capability to auto-develop a three-dimensional structure, the user constructs a two-dimensional floor plan first, so the program output is based on the user’s initial input. Therefore, the quality of the three-dimensional design is linked to the student’s ability to visualize the final product prior to development. The purpose of this study is to assess the visualization skills of School of Construction students at the University of Southern Mississippi, as well as concept development instruction by SoC faculty. The researcher was interested in the question: are fundamental visualization skills adequately exercised as students advance in their educational career, allowing them to recall the valuable skills? The researcher developed tools to assess student skills and faculty instruction, and uncover correlations between current educational levels and visualization fundamentals. Data collected from the faculty survey were interpreted as professional advice in architectural and architectural-related fields. Ultimately, data obtained through the student tests showed that students in all educational levels had similar visualization capabilities and exposed the importance of exercising fundamental skills to avoid diminishing the accuracy of the two-dimensional and three-dimensional drawings

Federal recordkeeping and process improvement at the Federal Aviation Administration

The purpose of this study was to identify methods to improve the acquisition and the recordkeeping process of employee accident data at the Federal Aviation Administration. Two expert focus groups were utilized to discover the existing problems and to propose possible resolutions to the problems. The potential solutions were prioritized by each expert focus group with the use of an individual priority decision worksheet. Most of the potential solutions were feasible, low cost and could possibly be implemented within a year\u27s time. An analysis of the data showed that the three most cost effective and feasible solutions to the data acquisition and recordkeeping process at FAA included an electronic system to submit the CA-1 form to the Office of Workers\u27 Compensation at FAA, a general email inbox for CA-1 submission to FAA and expanding drop down menus of the current systems to give more detailed information

EC80-1536 A Guide to Integrated Pest Management at Feedlots and Dairies

Extension Circular 80-1536: A guide to integrated pest management. Integrated Pest Management is used to describe the old art of keeping pest infestations below economic levels by utilizing a combination of control methodologies

A Guide to Integrated Pest Management at Feedlots and Dairies

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is rather new terminology used to describe the old art of keeping pest infestations below economic levels by utilizing a combination of control methodologies. This guide has been prepared to assist feedlot and dairy operators and consultants in an integrated approach to the management of pests. It is our purpose to outline a combination of sanitation, chemical methods and cultural control of stable flies, house flies and--to a much lesser extent--rats and starlings. The guide may also be useful to entomology and animal science students and county agents. Stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans (L.) House Fly, Musca domestica (L.

Sea urchin reproductive performance in a changing ocean: Poor males improve while good males worsen in response to ocean acidification

This is the final version. Available on open access from the Royal Society via the DOI in this recordData accessibility: The datasets supporting this article have been uploaded as part of the electronic supplementary material.Ocean acidification (OA) is predicted to be a major driver of ocean biodiversity change. At projected rates of change, sensitive marine taxa may not have time to adapt. Their persistence may depend on pre-existing inter-individual variability. We investigated individual male reproductive performance under present-day and OA conditions using two representative broadcast spawners, the sea urchins Lytechinus pictus and Heliocidaris erythrogramma. Under the non-competitive individual ejaculate scenario, we examined sperm functional parameters (e.g. swimming speed, motility) and their relationship with fertilization success under current and near-future OA conditions. Significant inter-individual differences in almost every parameter measured were identified. Importantly, we observed strong inverse relationships between individual fertilization success rate under current conditions and change in fertilization success under OA. Individuals with a high fertilization success under current conditions had reduced fertilization under OA, while individuals with a low fertilization success under current conditions improved. Change in fertilization success ranged from −67% to +114% across individuals. Our results demonstrate that while average population fertilization rates remain similar under OA and present-day conditions, the contribution by different males to the population significantly shifts, with implications for how selection will operate in a future ocean.European Union Horizon 2020Marie Curie Alumni AssociationCompany of BiologistsNSW Environmental Trus

Consumer Racial Discrimination in Tipping: A Replication and Extension

This study examines the effects of server race, customer race and their interaction on restaurant tips while statistically controlling for the customers’ perceptions of service quality and other variables. The findings indicate that consumers of both races discriminate against black service providers by tipping them less than white service providers. Furthermore, this server race effect on tipping is moderated by perceived service quality and dining party size. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed. Particularly noteworthy is the possibility that the server race effect on tipping represents an adverse impact against black servers that makes the use of tipping to compensate employees a violation of employment discrimination law in the United States

Identification of an immunodominant CD4+ T cell epitope in the VP6 protein of rotavirus following intranasal immunization of BALB/c mice

AbstractThe only lymphocytes required for protection against fecal rotavirus shedding after intranasal immunization of BALB/c (H-2d) mice with a chimeric rotavirus VP6 protein (MBP∷VP6) and the mucosal adjuvant LT(R192G) are CD4+ T cells. The purpose of this study was to identify CD4+ T cell epitopes within VP6 that might be responsible for this protection. To make this determination, spleen cells obtained from BALB/c mice following intranasal immunization with MBP∷VP6/LT(R192G) were stimulated in vitro with either MBP∷VP6 or overlapping VP6 peptides containing ≤30 amino acids (AA). The numbers of memory (CD44high) CD4+ T cells stimulated to produce TH1 and TH17 cytokines (IFNγ and IL-17), as well as the quantities of these cytokines released into the cell supernatants, were then measured relative to those produced in mock-stimulated cells from the same animals. One epitope expected to be found was the VP6 14-mer AA289–302, previously identified as a CD4+ T cell epitope in H-2d mice. This was not observed but instead the only VP6 epitope identified was AA242–259, the dominant CD4+ T cell epitope previously reported after oral, live rotavirus immunization

Biochemical Characterization of a Filtered Synaptoneurosome Preparation from Guinea Pig Cerebral Cortex: Cyclic Adenosine 3’:5’-Monophosphate-generating Systems, Receptors, and Enzymes

A particulate preparation was obtained by low speed centrifugation of guinea pig cerebral cortical homogenates prepared with a Krebs-Henseleit buffer. Light microscopic examination, using a reflected light differential interference contrast system, reveals the presence of intact neurons, axonal fragments, glial cells, and erythrocytes along with an abundance of small spherical entities (diameter about 1.1 μm) and snowman-shaped entities (diameter of larger sphere about 1.1 μm, diameter of attached smaller sphere about 0.6 μm). Many unattached smaller spherical entities are also present (diameter about 0.6 μm). Pressure filtration through 5 or l0-μm Millipore filters, followed by low speed centrifugation and resuspension, removes most of the larger entities to afford a suspension composed mainly of the small spherical and snowman-shaped entities. Electron microscopic examination reveals the presence of many synaptosomes with attached resealed postsynaptic entities. It is proposed that these correspond to the snowman-shaped entities to be termed synaptoneurosomes. Accumulations of cyclic AMP elicited by 2-chloroadenosine and histamine, and by combinations of 2-chloroadenosine, histamine, norepinephrine, and forskolin, are lower in filtered than in unfiltered preparations, whereas accumulations elicited by forskolin are unchanged. Levels of adenylate cyclase are reduced by filtration, whereas levels of phosphodiesterase are unchanged. Filtration reduces levels of markers for whole cells and endothelial cells, whereas neuronal markers such as acetylcholinesterase activity and norepinephrine uptake are increased. Levels of S-100 protein, a marker for glial cells, are not significantly decreased. There is no apparent change in the density of many receptors or ion channels. Levels of A1-adenosine and H1-histamine receptors are increased, whereas levels of so-called peripheral benzodiazepine-binding sites are decreased