The ethical infrastructure of legal practice in larger law firms: values, policy and behaviour

The article examines the impact of the cultures and organisational structures of large law firms on individual lawyers' ethics. The paper suggests that large law firms in Australia should consciously design and implement 'ethical infrastructures' to both counteract pressures for misbehaviour and positively promote ethical behaviour and discussion. The paper goes on to explain what implementing ethical infrastructures in law firms could and should mean by reference to what Australian law firms are already doing and US innovations in this area. Finally, the paper warns that the 'ethical infrastructure' of a firm should not be seen merely as the formal ethics policies explicitly enunciated by management. Formal and legalistic ethical infrastructures that fail to support or encourage the development of individual lawyers' awareness oftheir own ethical values and ethical judgment in practice will be useless

Update on trials examining effects of night-time blood pressure lowering drug treatment on prevention of cardiovascular disease

Current evidence on benefits of night-time blood pressure (BP) lowering drug treatment on cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention attributable to the Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring in the Prediction of Cardiovascular Events and Effects of Chronotherapy (MAPEC) trial and Bedtime hypertension treatment improves cardiovascular risk reduction (Hygia) trials has raised concern on their validity and methodology. In this commentary, the authors have updated the progress of the ongoing trials that were planned to examine the effect of night-time BP lowering drug treatment on CVD prevention. As compared to MAPEC and Hygia trials, three pragmatic trials the Blood Pressure Medication Timing (BPMedtime) trial (US), the Treatment In Morning versus Evening (TIME) trial (UK), Bedmed and Bedmed-frail (Canada) were planned without ambulatory BP monitoring. The BPMedtime trial was stopped after the pilot phase due to underestimated sample size and insufficient funds. TIME trial (UK) had a similar issue when changing the sample size from 10,269 to more than 20,000 participants. The TIME trial was completed and the initial results showing that protection against heart attack, stroke and vascular death is not affected by whether antihypertensive medications are taken in the morning or evening. The full study of the TIME trial is published in December 2022. Bedmed and Bedmed-frail trials are ongoing and will be completed in 2023. Time of taking BP lowering drug should be determined by patients at their convenience to improve the adherence. There was no difference in adverse effects of taking BP lowering drugs at night or morning. Evidence on the effect of night-time treatment on CVD events is inconsistent. The results from ongoing trials in Canada will contribute evidence to the use of BP lowering drug treatment for the prevention of CVD

Diabetes-related knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) of adult patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus in the Free State province, South Africa

Introduction: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a global health problem with high morbidity and mortality in patients who are mostly still economically active. The growing incidence and health implications for those affected make T2DM a major public health issue. Objectives: To compile a demographic, anthropometric and knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) profile of adult patients with T2DM in the public health sector of the Free State province, South Africa. Design: A descriptive observational study was conducted. Setting: A total of 255 participants attending public health facilities in the Free State were interviewed. Outcome Measures: Questionnaires were completed in an interview to determine demographics and KAP. Anthropometric measurements were obtained by standard techniques. Results: The majority of the participants (n = 222; 87.1%) were black women from urban areas, who were overweight and obese. The median age at diagnosis was 48 years (range 15–80 years), and 25 participants (9.8%) lacked formal schooling. In 212 participants (83.1%), a waist circumference above cut-off points was observed. Only half of the participants knew the normal range for blood glucose. Approximately 80% felt that they would be a different person if they did not have diabetes. Although 96.1% of participants were knowledgeable about the benefits of physical exercise, only 31.0% reported exercising on a daily basis. A statistically significant association was found between knowledge and attitudes, indicating that better knowledge about diabetes could be associated with a more positive attitude towards diabetes. Conclusion: Poor knowledge, a negative attitude and poor practices related to diabetes were observed in a very high percentage of participants, which may contribute to morbidity and mortality. The fact that knowledge was associated with attitude indicates that interventions aimed at improving knowledge could benefit patients in more than one way. Interventions to equip patients to successfully manage their condition are urgently required

Dynamic modeling of three-phase upflow fixed-bed reactor including pore diffusion

The dynamics of a three-phase upflow fixed-bed reactor are investigated using a non-isothermal heterogeneous model including gas–liquid and liquid–solid mass transfer and diffusion/reaction phenomena inside the catalyst. The partial differential and algebraic equations involving three integration variables (time and two space coordinates) are solved via discretization of the spatial coordinates coupled with the Gear method. For a multistep hydrogenation on a shell catalyst, the model exhibits significant effects of the external and above all internal resistance to hydrogen transfer but also non-trivial internal hydrocarbons concentration profiles. A simplified model is compared with the extended one and with experimental data in transient regime. In the investigated conditions—hydrocarbons in large excess—the diffusion of hydrocarbons appears to be actually not limiting, so that the simplest model predicts accurately the transient reactor behavior

Stacking order dynamic in the quasi-two-dimensional dichalcogenide 1T-TaS2_2 probed with MeV ultrafast electron diffraction

Transitions between different charge density wave (CDW) states in quasi-two-dimensional materials may be accompanied also by changes in the inter-layer stacking of the CDW. Using MeV ultrafast electron diffraction, the out-of-plane stacking order dynamics in the quasi-two-dimensional dichalcogenide 1T-TaS$_2$ is investigated for the first time. From the intensity of the CDW satellites aligned around the commensurate $l$ = 1/6 characteristic stacking order, it is found out that this phase disappears with a 0.5 ps time constant. Simultaneously, in the same experiment, the emergence of the incommensurate phase, with a slightly slower 2.0 ps time constant, is determined from the intensity of the CDW satellites aligned around the incommensurate $l$ = 1/3 characteristic stacking order. These results might be of relevance in understanding the metallic character of the laser-induced metastable "hidden" state recently discovered in this compound

Quivers, Geometric Invariant Theory, and Moduli of Linear Dynamical Systems

We use geometric invariant theory and the language of quivers to study compactifications of moduli spaces of linear dynamical systems. A general approach to this problem is presented and applied to two well known cases: We show how both Lomadze's and Helmke's compactification arises naturally as a geometric invariant theory quotient. Both moduli spaces are proven to be smooth projective manifolds. Furthermore, a description of Lomadze's compactification as a Quot scheme is given, whereas Helmke's compactification is shown to be an algebraic Grassmann bundle over a Quot scheme. This gives an algebro-geometric description of both compactifications. As an application, we determine the cohomology ring of Helmke's compactification and prove that the two compactifications are not isomorphic when the number of outputs is positive.Comment: 24 pages, based on my Diplomarbeit completed in February 2005, to appear in Linear Algebra and its Applications (LAA

The IRAM-30m line survey of the Horsehead PDR: I. CF+ as a tracer of C+ and a measure of the Fluorine abundance

C+ is a key species in the interstellar medium but its 158 {\mu}m fine structure line cannot be observed from ground-based telescopes. Current models of fluorine chemistry predict that CF+ is the second most important fluorine reservoir, in regions where C+ is abundant. We detected the J = 1-0 and J = 2-1 rotational lines of CF+ with high signal-to-noise ratio towards the PDR and dense core positions in the Horsehead. Using a rotational diagram analysis, we derive a column density of N(CF+) = (1.5 - 2.0) \times 10^12 cm^-2. Because of the simple fluorine chemistry, the CF+ column density is proportional to the fluorine abundance. We thus infer the fluorine gas-phase abundance to be F/H = (0.6 - 1.5) \times 10^-8. Photochemical models indicate that CF+ is found in the layers where C+ is abundant. The emission arises in the UV illuminated skin of the nebula, tracing the outermost cloud layers. Indeed, CF+ and C+ are the only species observed to date in the Horsehead with a double peaked line profile caused by kinematics. We therefore propose that CF+, which is detectable from the ground, can be used as a proxy of the C+ layers.Comment: Accepted to A&A, 4 pages, 4 figures, 2 table

Discovery of an HI Counterpart to the Extended Tail of Mira

We report the detection of an HI counterpart to the extended, far-ultraviolet-emitting tail associated with the asymptotic giant branch star Mira (o Ceti). Using the Nancay Radio Telescope (NRT), we have detected emission as far as 88' north of the star, confirming that the tail contains a significant atomic component (M_HI ~ 4x10e-3 M_sun). The NRT spectra reveal a deceleration of the tail gas caused by interaction with the local interstellar medium. We estimate an age for the tail of ~1.2x10e5 years, suggesting that the mass-loss history of Mira has been more prolonged than previous observational estimates. Using the Very Large Array (VLA) we have also imaged the HI tail out to ~12' (0.4 pc) from the star. The detected emission shows a ``head-tail'' morphology, but with complex substructure. Regions with detected HI emission correlate with far-ultraviolet-luminous regions on large scales, but the two tracers are not closely correlated on smaller scales (<1'). We propose that detectable tails of HI are likely to be a common feature of red giants undergoing mass-loss.Comment: accepted to ApJ; version with full-resolution figures available at: http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/~lmatthew/Mira_HI.pd

Dark halo baryons not in ancient halo white dwarfs

Having ruled out the possibility that stellar objects are the main contributor of the dark matter embedding galaxies, microlensing experiments cannot exclude the hypothesis that a significant fraction of the Milky Way dark halo might be made of MACHOs with masses in the range 0.5-0.8 \msun. Ancient white dwarfs are generally considered the most plausible candidates for such MACHOs. We report the results of a search for such white dwarfs in a proper motion survey covering a 0.16 sqd field at three epochs at high galactic latitude, and 0.938 sqd at two epochs at intermediate galactic latitude (VIRMOS survey), using the CFH telescope. Both surveys are complete to I = 23, with detection efficiency fading to 0 at I = 24.2. Proper motion data are suitable to separate unambiguously halo white dwarfs identified by belonging to a non rotating system. No candidates were found within the colour-magnitude-proper motion volume where such objects can be safely discriminated from any standard population as well as from possible artefacts. In the same volume, we estimate the maximum white dwarf halo fraction compatible with this observation at different significance levels if the halo is at least 14 gigayears old and under different ad hoc initial mass functions. Our data alone rules out a halo fraction greater than 14% at 95% confidence level. Combined with two previous investigations exploring comparable volumes pushes the limit below 4 % (95% confidence level) or below 1.3% (64% confidence), this implies that if baryonic dark matter is present in galaxy halos, it is not, or it is only marginally in the form of faint hydrogen white dwarfs.Comment: accepted in Astronomy and Astrophysics (19-05-2004

Emission-line stars discovered in the UKST H-alpha survey of the Large Magellanic Cloud; Part 1: Hot stars

We present new, accurate positions, spectral classifications, radial and rotational velocities, H-alpha fluxes, equivalent widths and B,V,I,R magnitudes for 579 hot emission-line stars (classes B0 - F9) in the Large Magellanic Cloud which include 469 new discoveries. Candidate emission line stars were discovered using a deep, high resolution H-alpha map of the central 25 deg2 of the LMC obtained by median stacking a dozen 2 hour H-alpha exposures taken with the UK Schmidt Telescope. Spectroscopic follow-up observations on the AAT, UKST, VLT, the SAAO 1.9m and the MSSSO 2.3m telescope have established the identity of these faint sources down to magnitude R~23 for H-alpha (4.5 x 10^-17 ergs cm^2 s^-1 Ang). Confirmed emission-line stars have been assigned an underlying spectral classification through cross-correlation against 131 absorption line template spectra covering the range O1 to F8. We confirm 111 previously identified emission line stars and 64 previously known variable stars with spectral types hotter than F8. The majority of hot stars identified (518 stars or 89%) are class B. Of all the hot emission-line stars in classes B-F, 130 or 22% are type B[e], characterised by the presence of forbidden emission lines such as [SII], [NII] and [OII]. We report on the physical location of these stars with reference to possible contamination from ambient HII emission. Along with flux calibration of the H-alpha emission we provide the first H-alpha luminosity function for selected sub-samples after correction for any possible nebula or ambient contamination. We find a moderate correlation between the intensity of H-alpha emission and the V magnitude of the central star based on SuperCOSMOS magnitudes and OGLE-II photometry where possible. Cool stars from classes G-S, with and without strong H-alpha emission, will be the focus of part 2 in this series.Comment: 24 pages (main paper) 36 figures, 6 tables; Appendix Tables: 22 pages, MNRAS, 201