Promises and Conflicting Obligations

This paper addresses two questions. First can a binding promise conflict with other binding promises and thereby generate conflicting obligations? Second can binding promises conflict with other non-promissory obligations, so that we are obliged to keep so-called ‘wicked promises’? The answer to both questions is ‘yes’. The discussion examines both ‘natural right’ and ‘social practice’ approaches to promissory obligation and I conclude that neither can explain why we should be unable to make binding promises that conflict with our prior obligations. There is also consideration of the parallel case of ‘wicked commands’

Quantification of nutrient supply in forage-based diets for beef cattle

End of Project ReportIntroduction Cattle rearing systems in Ireland are predominantly grass-based as 80% of agricultural land is dedicated to grassland (silage, hay and pasture) (CSO, 2007). Feed costs represent the largest single variable cost in beef production in Ireland. Grazed grass is generally the cheapest source of food available for beef (and milk) production provided that the environment and management permit high yields of high quality herbage to be utilised (McGee, 2000). Environmental legislation and the rules of environmental schemes such as the European Union (EU) Rural Environmental Protection Scheme are progressively restricting the application of fertilizer Nitrogen (N), and many grazing systems are becoming more extensive. Over 80% of all farms in Ireland make grass silage (O’Kiely et al., 1998) and it accounts for 87% of total grass conserved (Mayne and O’Kiely, 2005). The deficiencies in nutrient supply to beef cattle from grass silage are usually overcome by supplementing with concentrates (McGee, 2005), which are primarily cereal-based (Drennan et al., 2006). However, diverse types of concentrates containing a variety of feed ingredients, particularly non-cereal by-products are available and frequently fed as supplements to grass silage or as highconcentrate diets. The relatively small amount of information available on feeding these contrasting concentrates to beef cattle is inconsistent. Moreover, there has been an increased use of other ensiled forages such as maize and whole-crop cereals. These forages have high intake potential and can reduce the concentrate feeding level, while maintaining or increasing performance of beef cattle (Keady, 2005). With increasing costs of beef production and increasing constraints of environmental regulations, efficient utilisation of consumed nutrients by cattle is imperative in providing sustainable production and income to farmers. Feed evaluation systems are used to match the dietary nutrient supply with animal requirements for a specific level of production (Dijkstra et al., 2007). These systems are important in order to optimise the efficiency of feed utilisation, to improve animal performance and to reduce nutrient losses to the environment (Dijkstra et al., 2007). Although the reticulo-rumen is central to the profile of nutrients available for absorption, yet quantitative knowledge of the rates of passage and the digestion of nutrients in the rumen is limited compared with that on degradation rates (Dijkstra et al., 2007). There is a lack of information that adequately characterises the supply of nutrients from forages and feedstuffs specific to Ireland, especially for fresh grass-based diets of which, there are very few studies reported in the literature. This shortcoming impedes our ability to capitalise on the merits of evolving feeding systems. This project aimed to: 1. Increase the knowledge and advance the understanding on rumen digestion and nutrient flow from the rumen of the main forages / forage-based diets offered to beef cattle in Ireland. 2. Evaluate strategies for optimal utilization of nutrients consumed by cattle

Improving Fairness and Addressing Racial Disparities in the Delaware Criminal Justice System

This memorandum summarizes existing scholarly research on police stops; pretrial detention; charging, plea bargaining, and sentencing; and alternatives to incarceration. For each topic, the memo surveys the extent to which each of these contributes to racial disparities as well as inaccuracies in criminal justice; identifies reforms that have worked elsewhere to ameliorate these problems; and considers the extent to which these reforms are compatible with preserving and improving public safety. The memorandum concludes with a brief discussion of recent scholarship that both highlights larger social factors that contribute to disparity and identifies programs and initiatives outside of the criminal justice system that might reduce racial disparities within the system

Ischemic and haemorrhagic stroke risk estimation using a machine-learning-based retinal image analysis

Background: Stroke is the second leading cause of death worldwide, causing a considerable disease burden. Ischemic stroke is more frequent, but haemorrhagic stroke is responsible for more deaths. The clinical management and treatment are different, and it is advantageous to classify their risk as early as possible for disease prevention. Furthermore, retinal characteristics have been associated with stroke and can be used for stroke risk estimation. This study investigated machine learning approaches to retinal images for risk estimation and classification of ischemic and haemorrhagic stroke.Study design: A case-control study was conducted in the Shenzhen Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital. According to the computerized tomography scan (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) results, stroke patients were classified as either ischemic or hemorrhage stroke. In addition, a control group was formed using non-stroke patients from the hospital and healthy individuals from the community. Baseline demographic and medical information was collected from participants' hospital medical records. Retinal images of both eyes of each participant were taken within 2 weeks of admission. Classification models using a machine-learning approach were developed. A 10-fold cross-validation method was used to validate the results.Results: 711 patients were included, with 145 ischemic stroke patients, 86 haemorrhagic stroke patients, and 480 controls. Based on 10-fold cross-validation, the ischemic stroke risk estimation has a sensitivity and a specificity of 91.0% and 94.8%, respectively. The area under the ROC curve for ischemic stroke is 0.929 (95% CI 0.900 to 0.958). The haemorrhagic stroke risk estimation has a sensitivity and a specificity of 93.0% and 97.1%, respectively. The area under the ROC curve is 0.951 (95% CI 0.918 to 0.983).Conclusion: A fast and fully automatic method can be used for stroke subtype risk assessment and classification based on fundus photographs alone