Rights, Performatives, and Promises in Karl Olivecrona’s Legal Theory

Karl Olivecrona (1971) maintains that right is a hollow word, and so also for some other legal terms. Right, he says, has no conceptual background. He arrives at this position after an examination of metaphysical and naturalistic accounts, including American legal realism. Some of Olivecrona\u27s arguments will be evaluated here. His position is influenced by Hagerstrom\u27s theory of legal language, but he argues that Hagerstrom fails to account for how such terms as right, duty, etc. function in legal discourse and why they are useful. A parallel approach is also found in Olivecrona\u27s book The Problem of the Monetary Unit (1957). Olivecrona is left with the problem of how such hollow terms function. His explanation is largely psychological. Going beyond J. L. Austin\u27s notion of performatory language, he introduces the idea of performatory imperatives. I propose to submit Olivecrona\u27s approach to a critical examination. It is suggested that had he started from everyday, nonlegal promises and commitments he might well have ended up with a different theory of legal language

Cues from neuroepithelium and surface ectoderm maintain neural crest-free regions within cranial mesenchyme of the developing chick

Within the developing vertebrate head, neural crest cells (NCCs) migrate from the dorsal surface of the hindbrain into the mesenchyme adjacent to rhombomeres (r)1 plus r2, r4 and r6 in three segregated streams. NCCs do not enter the intervening mesenchyme adjacent to r3 or r5, suggesting that these regions contain a NCC-repulsive activity. We have used surgical manipulations in the chick to demonstrate that r3 neuroepithelium and its overlying surface ectoderm independently help maintain the NCC-free zone within r3 mesenchyme. In the absence of r3, subpopulations of NCCs enter r3 mesenchyme in a dorsolateral stream and an ectopic cranial nerve forms between the trigeminal and facial ganglia. The NCC-repulsive activity dissipates/degrades within 5-10 hours of r3 removal. Initially, r4 NCCs more readily enter the altered mesenchyme than r2 NCCs, irrespective of their maturational stage. Following surface ectoderm removal, mainly r4 NCCs enter r3 mesenchyme within 5 hours, but after 20 hours the proportions of r2 NCCs and r4 NCCs ectopically within r3 mesenchyme appear similar

Modelling the injured spinal cord using 3-dimensional cell cultures; strategies for improving tissue engineered repair

Abstract not available

Ethical and Value Issues in Population Limitation and Distribution in the United States

Any discussion of the ethical issues in population limitation and redistribution must begin by focusing upon the definition of the problem, because how one views the problem, and its urgency and gravity, inevitably determines whether there is something that ought to be done and what it is that ought to be done. As laymen in many of the areas that are relevant to the population problem, we are forced to rely on the expert knowledge of others. It would be highly salutary if there were a body of received opinion that could be used without hesitation. Unfortunately, on many crucial matters this is not the case. We are put in the uncomfortable position of the patient who must decide what to do when his doctors disagree

The Balkan Question : benefits and challenges of European integration through enlargement.

Since the formation of the European Project, the questions of which direction the EU should take and what objectives it should pursue in the face of considerable ongoing challenges have evolved over time. Today the Western Balkan states – the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania and Bosnia-Hercegovina – pose a set of considerable challenges to the organization, and how the EU addresses the membership of these countries will stand as a critical test of the organization’s competence. As the Union turns its attention to membership consideration for these states, both their complexities and their fragilities have created among EU member states grave doubts regarding the efficacy of membership for all. The critical issues include internal ethnic hostilities, faltering economies, the strain of refugee influx, regional political strains, and Soviet and Chinese economic and political intervention. This thesis assesses both the benefits and costs of enlargement into the Balkan region for both the countries seeking membership and the European Union. This thesis argues that the Union should support enlargement only if it specifically serves the interests of the organization. The Union should promote enlargement when it strengthens measurably deeper integration policies. Successfully adding some or all of the Balkans states would significantly enhance the EU’s international standing, broaden the reach of the organization, and demonstrate the strength and sustainability of the its Common Foreign and Security Policy

Electrodynamics of Amorphous Media at Low Temperatures

Amorphous solids exhibit intrinsic, local structural transitions, that give rise to the well known quantum-mechanical two-level systems at low temperatures. We explain the microscopic origin of the electric dipole moment of these two-level systems: The dipole emerges as a result of polarization fluctuations between near degenerate local configurations, which have nearly frozen in at the glass transition. An estimate of the dipole's magnitude, based on the random first order transition theory, is obtained and is found to be consistent with experiment. The interaction between the dipoles is estimated and is shown to contribute significantly to the Gr\"{u}neisen parameter anomaly in low $T$ glasses. In completely amorphous media, the dipole moments are expected to be modest in size despite their collective origin. In partially crystalline materials, however, very large dipoles may arise, possibly explaining the findings of Bauer and Kador, J. Chem. Phys. {\bf 118}, 9069 (2003).Comment: Submitted for publication; April 27, 2005 versio

An assessment of the effects of neurokinin₁ receptor antagonism against nausea and vomiting: Relative efficacy, sites of action and lessons for future drug development.

A ‘broad-spectrum’ anti-vomiting effect of neurokinin1 receptor antagonists (NK1RA), shown in preclinical animal studies, has been supported by a more limited range of clinical studies in different indications. However, this review suggests that compared with vomiting, the self-reported sensation of nausea is less affected or possibly unaffected (depending on the stimulus) by NK1 receptor antagonism, a common finding for ‘anti-emetics’. The stimulus-independent effects of NK1RAs against vomiting are explicable by actions within the central pattern generator (CPG; ventral brainstem) and the nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS; dorsal brainstem), with additional effects on vagal afferent activity for certain stimuli (e.g., highly emetogenic chemotherapy). The CPG and NTS neurones are multifunctional so the notable lack of obvious effects of NK1RAs on other reflexes mediated by the same neurones suggests that their anti-vomiting action is dependent on the activation state of the pathway leading to vomiting. Nausea requires activation of cerebral pathways by projection of information from the NTS. Although NK1 receptors are present in cerebral nuclei implicated in nausea, and imaging studies show very high receptor occupancy at clinically used doses, the variable or limited ability of NK1RAs to inhibit nausea emphasises (a) our inadequate understanding of the mechanisms of nausea and (b) that classification of a drug as an “anti-emetic” may give a false impression of efficacy against nausea versus vomiting. We discuss the potential mechanisms for the differential efficacy of NK1RA and the implications for future development of drugs which can effectively treat nausea, an area of unmet clinical need