The Institutionalist Implications of an Odious Debt Doctrine

Sovereigns incur debts, and creditors look to the law to hold sovereigns to their obligations. In legal terms, the question is whether to recognize and define an odious debt defense through a treaty or national legislative acts, on the one hand, or through the decisions of authoritative dispute-settlement bodies, whether international arbitral organs or domestic courts. Moreover, others may think that odious debt doctrine as a means can optimize the social welfare generated by sovereign-debt contracts. Here, Stephan examines the social welfare in the economic sense but attacks the problem from a different direction and concludes that no satisfactory mechanism exists for instituting an odious debt doctrine

Experimental study of laser detected magnetic resonance based on atomic alignment

We present an experimental study of the spectra produced by optical/radio-frequency double resonance in which resonant linearly polarized laser light is used in the optical pumping and detection processes. We show that the experimental spectra obtained for cesium are in excellent agreement with a very general theoretical model developed in our group and we investigate the limitations of this model. Finally, the results are discussed in view of their use in the study of relaxation processes in aligned alkali vapors.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev. A. Related to physics/060523

Stellar intensity interferometry: Experimental steps toward long-baseline observations

Experiments are in progress to prepare for intensity interferometry with arrays of air Cherenkov telescopes. At the Bonneville Seabase site, near Salt Lake City, a testbed observatory has been set up with two 3-m air Cherenkov telescopes on a 23-m baseline. Cameras are being constructed, with control electronics for either off- or online analysis of the data. At the Lund Observatory (Sweden), in Technion (Israel) and at the University of Utah (USA), laboratory intensity interferometers simulating stellar observations have been set up and experiments are in progress, using various analog and digital correlators, reaching 1.4 ns time resolution, to analyze signals from pairs of laboratory telescopes.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figur

On the Correlation Between CO Absorption and Far-Ultraviolet Non-Linear Extinction Toward Galactic OB Stars

A sample of 59 sight lines to reddened Galactic OB stars was examined for correlations of the strength of the CO Fourth Positive (A - X) absorption band system with the ultraviolet interstellar extinction curve parameters. We used archival high-dispersion NEWSIPS IUE spectra to measure the CO absorption for comparison to parametric fits of the extinction curves from the literature. A strong correlation with the non-linear far-UV curvature term was found with greater absorption, normalized to E(B-V), being associated with more curvature. A weaker trend with the linear extinction term was also found. Mechanisms for enhancing CO in dust environments exhibiting high non-linear curvature are discussed.Comment: 10 pages, including 6 figures. LaTeX2e (emulateapj5.sty). To appear in ApJ, Sep 20, 200

The pre treatment systemic inflammatory response is an important determinant of poor pathologic response for patients undergoing neoadjuvant therapy for rectal cancer

Background Not all patients respond equally to neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT), with subsequent effects on survival. The systemic inflammatory response has been shown to predict long-term outcomes in colorectal cancer. The current study examined the association between systemic inflammation and nCRT in patients with rectal cancer. Methods Between 1999 and 2010, patients who underwent nCRT were identified. Serum measurements of hemoglobin, C-reactive protein, albumin, modified Glasgow prognostic score (mGPS), and differential white cell counts were obtained before and after nCRT. The Rödel scoring system measured pathologic tumor regression, and magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography determined radiologic staging. Results The study included 79 patients. Of these patients, 37% were radiologically downstaged, and 44% were categorized as showing a good pathologic response (Rödel scores 3 and 4). As a validated measure of the systemic inflammatory response, mGPS (P = 0.022) was associated with a poor pathologic response to nCRT. A radiologic response was associated with a good pathologic response to treatment (P = 0.003). A binary logistic regression model identified mGPS (odds ratio [OR] 0.27; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.07–0.96; P = 0.043) and radiologic response (OR 0.43; 95% CI 0.18–0.99; P = 0.048) as strong independent predictors of a pathologic response to treatment. Conclusion The current study showed that a systemic inflammatory response before nCRT is associated with a poor pathologic response. Further study in a prospective controlled trial setting is warranted. Stephan B. Dreyer and Arfon G. M. T. Powell—contributed equally. Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer and the second highest cause of cancer death in the United Kingdom.1 The 5-year survival rate for CRC still is less than 60% with surgery alone, offering the only chance of cure. Rectal cancers comprise about one third of surgical resections for colorectal cancer.2 The widely adapted surgical technique of total mesorectal excision (TME), increased centralization, specialization of rectal surgery, and earlier disease detection have led to improved survival in the last 30 years.3,4 Preoperative neoadjuvant radiotherapy with or without chemotherapy currently is accepted as a standard of care for patients with margin-threatening rectal cancer. This increases disease-free survival (DFS) and sphincter preservation rates and improves circumferential resection margins and local recurrence rates.5–8 Current management of CRC in the United Kingdom involves evaluating patients using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) before treatment to identify those with margin-threatening disease (T3 or T4).9 These patients are offered neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) before surgical resection.10 Not all patients respond to nCRT, and there is a need to identify biomarkers of response because treatment is associated with significant morbidity. Rödel et al.11 have shown that the presence of spontaneous apoptosis in the resected specimen is a good marker of tumor regression and improved prognosis. The prognostic value of the systemic inflammatory response (SIR) has been widely studied in gastrointestinal cancers, particularly in the operative setting, using measurements of circulating markers including C-reactive protein (CRP), albumin, the modified Glasgow prognostic score (mGPS), the neutrophil lympocyte ratio (NLR), the platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and more recently, the neutrophil-platelet score (NPS) and the derived neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (dNLR).12–16 This study investigated the association between markers of the systemic inflammatory response and the pathologic response to nCRT in patients with rectal cancer

\u3cem\u3eBond v. United States\u3c/em\u3e and Information-Forcing Defaults: The Work that Presumptions Do

This Article first places Bond in the context of the Supreme Court’s growing reliance on interpretive presumptions to limit the effect of legislation. While some of the presumptions go back to the early days of the Republic, the current Court has expanded the roster of these devices and strengthened their effect. A review of the treatment of information-forcing defaults in contracts scholarship follows. Contract theory, or more precisely the strand of contract theory that draws on economics, seeks to identify socially optimal rules for contract formation, interpretation, and enforcement. To clarify the specific role of these rules, this Article compares information- forcing defaults to contract rules that allow parties to design mechanisms to deal with future contingencies about which no party has special knowledge. After exploring the economic analysis of contract interpretation, this Article then considers how contract theory’s insights, which illuminate the welfare effects of private ordering, might inform our understanding of the production of public law through the dynamic relationship between legislators and judges. This Article looks at several informal models of how Congress and the federal judiciary operate, and in particular at how they interact with respect to statutory interpretation. It then identifies the circumstances under each model that would support a conclusion that the Court’s current trend may contribute to the social good

\u3cem\u3eBond v. United States\u3c/em\u3e and Information-Forcing Defaults: The Work that Presumptions Do

This Article first places Bond in the context of the Supreme Court’s growing reliance on interpretive presumptions to limit the effect of legislation. While some of the presumptions go back to the early days of the Republic, the current Court has expanded the roster of these devices and strengthened their effect. A review of the treatment of information-forcing defaults in contracts scholarship follows. Contract theory, or more precisely the strand of contract theory that draws on economics, seeks to identify socially optimal rules for contract formation, interpretation, and enforcement. To clarify the specific role of these rules, this Article compares information- forcing defaults to contract rules that allow parties to design mechanisms to deal with future contingencies about which no party has special knowledge. After exploring the economic analysis of contract interpretation, this Article then considers how contract theory’s insights, which illuminate the welfare effects of private ordering, might inform our understanding of the production of public law through the dynamic relationship between legislators and judges. This Article looks at several informal models of how Congress and the federal judiciary operate, and in particular at how they interact with respect to statutory interpretation. It then identifies the circumstances under each model that would support a conclusion that the Court’s current trend may contribute to the social good