Economic Efficiency, Distributive Justice and Liability Rules

The main purpose of this paper is to show that the conflict between the considerations involving economic efficiency and those of distributive justice, in the context of assigning liability, is not as sharp as is generally believed to be the case. The condition of negligence liability which characterizes efficiency in the context of liability rules has an all-or-none character. Negligence liability requires that if one party is negligent and the other is not then the liability for the entire accident loss must fall on the negligent party. Thus within the framework of standard liability rules efficiency requirements preclude any non-efficiency considerations in cases where one party is negligent and the other is not. In this paper it is shown that a part of accident loss plays no part in providing appropriate incentives to the parties for taking due care and can therefore be apportioned on non-efficiency considerations. For a systematic analysis of efficiency requirements, a notion more general than that of a liability rule, namely, that of a decomposed liability rule is introduced. A complete characterization of efficient decomposed liability rules is provided in the paper. One important implication of the characterization theorems of this paper is that by decomposing accident loss in two parts, the scope for distributive considerations can be significantly broadened without sacrificing economic efficiency.Tort Law, Liability Rules, Decomposed liability Rules, Efficient Rules, Nash Equilibria, Negligence Liability, Distributive Justice

Effect of participatory women's groups facilitated by Accredited Social Health Activists on birth outcomes in rural eastern India: A cluster-randomised controlled trial

Background: A quarter of the world's neonatal deaths and 15% of maternal deaths happen in India. Few community-based strategies to improve maternal and newborn health have been tested through the country's government-approved Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs). We aimed to test the effect of participatory women's groups facilitated by ASHAs on birth outcomes, including neonatal mortality. Methods: In this cluster-randomised controlled trial of a community interve

Glass-ceramic sealants for planar IT-SOFC: A bilayered approach for joining electrolyte and metallic interconnect

To develop suitable sealants for planar anode-supported intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells (IT-SOFC) operating at around 800 degrees C, several glass-ceramic compositions based on the RO-Al2O3-SiO2 (R=Ba,Ca) system have been prepared and investigated. Thermal, chemical, and electrical properties of the glass ceramics along with crystallization behavior and bonding characteristics of parent glasses with yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) electrolyte and ferritic steel-based interconnect Crofer22APU are studied. The glass transition temperatures (T-g) of the developed glasses are within 600-635 degrees C. By varying the alkaline-earth metal content, the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) values can be tailored between that of YSZ and Crofer22APU. Based on the crystallization behavior, a single glass seal having matching CTE with Crofer22APU and a bilayer glass seal having different CTE values within the range of 10-13x10(-6)/K are found to be effective for metal-metal and metal-electrolyte sealing, respectively. The electrical resistivities of the sealants are quite high (rho(800 degrees C)> 10(5) Omega cm), and under sandwiched condition between two metals, the developed glasses are found to maintain this high resistivity even after 100 h of operation. A low helium leak rate value (< 10(-6) Pa m(2) s(-1)) has been observed for most of the developed glasses. (c) 2008 The Electrochemical Society

Development and characterizations of BaO-CaO-Al2O3-SiO2 glass-ceramic sealants for intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cell application

Several compositions based on BaO-CaO-Al2O3-SiO2 (BCAS) glass system have been studied in this investigation to see their applicability as sealant for solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC). The glasses as well as the corresponding glass-ceramics have been systematically characterized by differential thermal analysis, dilatometry, X-ray diffractometry, electron microscopy and impedance analysis to examine their suitability as sealant. While the glass transition temperature (T-g) determined from DTA are within 600-665 degrees C, coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) can be tailored between 9.5 and 13.0 x 10(-6) K-1. These glasses are found to be well adhered with metallic interconnects, such as commercial ferritic steel (Crofer22APU), at an optimum sealing temperature of 850 degrees C. The shrinkage behavior of the developed glasses in their pellet form has also been investigated. The resistivities of the glass-ceramics, as obtained from impedance analysis, are found to be within 10(4)-10(6) Omega cm at 800 degrees C. Under sandwiched condition between two metals, some of the developed compositions are found to maintain this high resistivity even after 100 h of operation. One of the glass compositions has shown a low leak-rate of the order of similar to 10(-7) Pa m(2) s(-1). (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Tailor-made BaO-CaO-Al2O3-SiO2-based glass sealant for anode-supported planar SOFC

Several glasses based on the BaO-CaO-Al2O3-SiO 2 (BCAS) system have been investigated to see their applicability as IT-SOFC sealants. The glass transition temperatures (Tg) of the developed glasses are within 600-635°C The CTE value can be tailored between that of YSZ electrolyte and ferritic steel (FS) interconnect, by varying the amount of alkaline-earth metal content. The electrical resistivities of the developed glasses are quite high (ρ800C ∼ 105Ω-cm) and thus suitable for IT-SOFC application. Based on the crystallization behavior, a single glass having matching CTE with FS and a bi-layer glass having different CTE values within the range of 10×10-6 K-1 to 13×10-6 K-1 are found to be very effective for the FS-FS and FS-YSZ sealing

Effect of BaO addition on magnesium lanthanum alumino borosilicate-based glass-ceramic sealant for anode-supported solid oxide fuel cell

We report the effect of BaO addition on thermal, crystallization, electrical and mechanical behavior of the magnesium lanthanum alumino borosilicate glass-ceramics. The glass forming region has been found to be quite narrow with respect to BaO content. Casting and annealing of completely transparent and amorphous glasses within this system has been possible only at an optimum BaO content of 25 mol% without any La(2)O(3) and Al(2)O(3). On further optimization of the developed glasses in terms of different borosilicate ratios, one of the developed compositions having MgO and BaO content of 22 and 25 mol% respectively, with a glass former ratio of 3 (SiO(2):B(2)O(3)) has been found to be quite promising in terms of its mechanical property, excellent joining, minimum chemical interaction and lowest leak-rate with the metallic interconnect such as Crofer22APU, and thus fulfills the major requirements for SOFC sealing application. (C) 2009 Professor T. Nejat Veziroglu. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Supramolecular Aggregates of Tetraphenylethene-Cored AIEgen toward Mechanoluminescent and Electroluminescent Devices

Luminescent materials possessing both the mechanoluminescence (MCL) and electroluminescence (EL) properties are the quest for sensing and optoelectronic applications. We report on the synthesis of a new tailor-made luminogen, 1,2-bis­(4-(1-([1,1′-biphenyl]-4-yl)-2,2-diphenylvinyl)­phenyl)-1,2-diphenylethene (<b>TPE 5</b>), using Suzuki coupling reaction with high yield. An aggregation-induced emission (AIE) active complex <b>TPE 5</b> forms supramolecular spherical aggregates at the air–water interface of a Langmuir trough. As a consequence, a large enhancement of luminescence is obtained from the mono- and multilayer Langmuir–Blodgett films of <b>TPE 5</b> owing to the AIE effect. The luminogen <b>TPE 5</b> exhibits a reversible MCL response, displaying photoluminescence switching due to change in the crystalline states under external stimuli. The unique feature of luminescence enhancement upon aggregate formation is utilized for the fabrication of light-emitting diodes with low threshold voltage using supramolecular aggregates as the active layer. This work demonstrates an efficient strategy for obtaining controlled supramolecular aggregates of AIEgen with a potential in the dual applications of MCL and EL

Association of rotavirus strains and severity of gastroenteritis in Indian children

Rotavirus is the leading cause of severe and dehydrating diarrhea in children aged under 5 years. We undertook this hospital-based surveillance study to examine the possible relationship between the severity of diarrhea and the various G-group rotaviruses circulating in India. Stool samples (n = 2,051) were systematically collected from 4,711 children aged <5 years admitted with severe acute gastroenteritis to 12 medical school centers from April 2011 to July 2012. Rotavirus testing was undertaken using a commercially available enzyme immunoassay kit for the rotavirus VP6 antigen (Premier Rotaclone Qualitative ELISA). Rotavirus positive samples were genotyped for VP7 and VP4 antigens by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction at a central laboratory. Of the stool samples tested for rotavirus antigen, 541 (26.4%) were positive for VP6 antigen. Single serotype infections from 377 stool samples were compared in terms of gastroenteritis severity. Among those with G1 rotavirus infection, very severe diarrhea (Vesikari score ≥ 16) was reported in 59 (33.9%) children, severe diarrhea (Vesikari score 11–15) in 104 (59.8%), moderate (Vesikari score 6–10) and mild diarrhea (Vesikari score 0–5) in 11 (6.3%). Among those with G2 infection, very severe diarrhea was reported in 26 (27.4%) children, severe diarrhea in 46 (48.4%), and moderate and mild diarrhea in 23 (24.2 %). Among those with G9 infection, very severe diarrhea was reported in 47 (54.5%) children, severe diarrhea in 29 (33.6%), and moderate and mild diarrhea in 10 (11.9%). Among those with G12 infection, very severe diarrhea was reported in 9 (40.9%) children and severe diarrhea in 13 (59.1%). The results of this study indicate some association between rotavirus serotypes and severity of gastroenteritis