mapping and developing consensus for governance

The linkages among society and the environment generate normative challenges across at least three distinct dimensions. First, environmental change imposes costs (both individual and collective) that fall disproportionately on various social groups, often those who have historically suffered from disadvantage and disenfranchisement. Second, the necessity to create institutional arrangements for managing environmental change and integrating those decisions with collective choices in other areas poses value-laden questions of policy design. Third, the human causes and consequences of environmental change and the collective choices they involve pit citizens and their understandings of the world against one another at the level of social action. The task confronting environmental governance analysts in responding to these challenges is to describe accurately and progressively develop the normative, political, and social consensus necessary for managing society-environment linkages in ways that are both ecologically sustainable and democratically legitimate. The work of deliberative theory offers a coherent approach to this task when deliberative techniques are mapped onto these human dimensions of environmental change. Deliberative democrats analyze the issues of distributional justice and social equity by using hypothetical case scenarios in juristic modeling exercises to describe existing elements of normative consensus regarding general legal principles. They employ techniques of deliberative polling to measure support for alternative policy paradigms that institutionalize policy goals and objectives related to the society- environment linkage. And deliberative democrats promote stakeholder partnerships that allow contending local discourses regarding the implementation of environmental policies to be reconciled through the coproduction of regulatory programs and procedures. Mapping and specifying these approaches to developing normative consensus for governance (as represented in a 4 X 3 table which, unfortunately, we cannot attach or present here) is the objective of this paper

Deliberation and the promise of a deeply democratic sustainability transition

Ecological economics arose as a normative transdiscipline aiming to generate knowledge and tools to help transition the economy toward a scale which is sustainable within the bounds of the earth system. Yet it remains unclear in practice how to legitimize its explicitly normative agenda. One potential means for legitimation can be found in deliberative social and political theory. We review how deliberative theory has informed ecological economics, pointing to three uses: first, to support valuation of non-market goods and services; second, to inform environmental decision-making more broadly; third, to ground alternative theories of development and wellbeing. We argue that deliberation has been used as problem-solving theory, but that its more radical implications have rarely been embraced. Embracing a deliberative foundation for ecological economics raises questions about the compatibility of deeply democratic practice and the normative discourses arguing for a sustainability transition. We highlight three potential mechanisms by which deliberation may contribute to a sustainability transition: preference formation; normative evaluation; and legitimation. We explore each in turn, demonstrating the theoretical possibility that deliberation may be conducive in and of itself to a sustainability transition. We point to a series of challenges facing the scaling up of deliberative systems that demand further empirical and theoretical work. These challenges constitute a research agenda for a deeply democratic sustainability transition and can inform the future development of ecological economics and other normative, critical transdisciplines

Parents\u27 Experiences and Perceptions when Classifying their Children with Cerebral Palsy: Recommendations for Service Providers.

AIMS: This study investigated the experiences and perceptions of parents of children with cerebral palsy (CP) when classifying their children using the Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS), the Manual Ability Classification System (MACS), and the Communication Function Classification System (CFCS). The second aim was to collate parents\u27 recommendations for service providers on how to interact and communicate with families. METHODS: A purposive sample of seven parents participating in the On Track study was recruited. Semi-structured interviews were conducted orally and were audiotaped, transcribed, and coded openly. A descriptive interpretive approach within a pragmatic perspective was used during analysis. RESULTS: Seven themes encompassing parents\u27 experiences and perspectives reflect a process of increased understanding when classifying their children, with perceptions of utility evident throughout this process. Six recommendations for service providers emerged, including making the child a priority and being a dependable resource. CONCLUSIONS: Knowledge of parents\u27 experiences when using the GMFCS, MACS, and CFCS can provide useful insight for service providers collaborating with parents to classify function in children with CP. Using the recommendations from these parents can facilitate family-provider collaboration for goal setting and intervention planning

Random subspaces for encryption based on a private shared Cartesian frame

A private shared Cartesian frame is a novel form of private shared correlation that allows for both private classical and quantum communication. Cryptography using a private shared Cartesian frame has the remarkable property that asymptotically, if perfect privacy is demanded, the private classical capacity is three times the private quantum capacity. We demonstrate that if the requirement for perfect privacy is relaxed, then it is possible to use the properties of random subspaces to nearly triple the private quantum capacity, almost closing the gap between the private classical and quantum capacities.Comment: 9 pages, published versio

A Map of the Nanoworld: Sizing up the Science, Politics, and Business of the Infinitesimal

Mapping out the eight main nodes of nanotechnology discourse that have emerged in the past decade, we explore how various scientific, social, and ethical islands of discussion have developed, been recognized, and are being continually renegotiated. We do so by (1) identifying the ways in which scientists, policy makers, entrepreneurs, educators, and environmental groups have drawn boundaries on issues relating to nanotechnology; (2) describing concisely the perspectives from which these boundaries are drawn; and (3) exploring how boundaries on nanotechnology are marked and negotiated by various nodes of nanotechnology discourse.Comment: 25 page

Risk factors for failure to rescue after hepatectomy in a high-volume UK tertiary referral center

BACKGROUND: Mortality after severe complications after hepatectomy (failure to rescue) is strongly linked to center volume. The aim of this study was to evaluate the risk factors for failure to rescue after hepatectomy in a high-volume center.METHODS: Retrospective study of 1,826 consecutive patients who underwent hepatectomy from 2011 to 2018. The primary outcome was a 90-day failure to rescue, defined as death within 90 days posthepatectomy after a severe (Clavien-Dindo grade 3+) complication. Risk factors for 90-day failure to rescue were evaluated using a multivariable binary logistic regression model.RESULTS: The cohort had a median age of 65.3 years, and 56.6% of patients were male. The commonest indication for hepatectomy was colorectal metastasis (58.9%), and 46.9% of patients underwent major or extra-major hepatectomy. Severe complications developed in 209 patients (11.4%), for whom the 30- and 90-day failure to rescue rates were 17.0% and 35.4%, respectively. On multivariable analysis, increasing age (P = .006) and modified Frailty Index (P = .044), complication type (medical or combined medical/surgical versus surgical; P &lt; .001), and body mass index (P = .018) were found to be significant independent predictors of 90-day failure to rescue.CONCLUSION: Older and frail patients who experience medical complications are particularly at risk of failure to rescue after hepatectomy. These results may inform preoperative counseling and may help to identify candidates for prehabilitation. Further study is needed to assess whether failure to rescue rates could be reduced by perioperative interventions.</p

A Serendipitous Galaxy Cluster Survey with XMM: Expected Catalogue Properties and Scientific Applications

This paper describes a serendipitous galaxy cluster survey that we plan to conduct with the XMM X-ray satellite. We have modeled the expected properties of such a survey for three different cosmological models, using an extended Press-Schechter (Press & Schechter 1974) formalism, combined with a detailed characterization of the expected capabilities of the EPIC camera on board XMM. We estimate that, over the ten year design lifetime of XMM, the EPIC camera will image a total of ~800 square degrees in fields suitable for the serendipitous detection of clusters of galaxies. For the presently-favored low-density model with a cosmological constant, our simulations predict that this survey area would yield a catalogue of more than 8000 clusters, ranging from poor to very rich systems, with around 750 detections above z=1. A low-density open Universe yields similar numbers, though with a different redshift distribution, while a critical-density Universe gives considerably fewer clusters. This dependence of catalogue properties on cosmology means that the proposed survey will place strong constraints on the values of Omega-Matter and Omega-Lambda. The survey would also facilitate a variety of follow-up projects, including the quantification of evolution in the cluster X-ray luminosity-temperature relation, the study of high-redshift galaxies via gravitational lensing, follow-up observations of the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect and foreground analyses of cosmic microwave background maps.Comment: Accepted to ApJ. Minor changes, e.g. presentation of temperature errors as a figure (rather than as a table). Latex (20 pages, 6 figures, uses emulateapj.sty

Retreatment with brentuximab vedotin in patients with CD30-positive hematologic malignancies

BACKGROUND: Brentuximab vedotin is a CD30-directed antibody-drug conjugate. Retreatment with brentuximab vedotin monotherapy was investigated in patients with CD30-positive Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) or systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) who relapsed after achieving complete or partial remission (CR or PR) with initial brentuximab vedotin therapy in a previous study (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00947856). METHODS: Twenty-one patients with HL and 8 patients with systemic ALCL were retreated; 3 patients with systemic ALCL were retreated twice. Patients generally received brentuximab vedotin 1.8 mg/kg intravenously approximately every 3 weeks over 30 minutes as an outpatient infusion. The primary objectives of this study were to assess safety and to estimate antitumor activity of brentuximab vedotin retreatment. RESULTS: The objective response rate was 60% (30% CR) in HL patients and 88% (63% CR) in systemic ALCL patients. The estimated median duration of response for patients with an objective response was 9.5 months (range, 0.0+ to 28.0+ months) at the time of study closure. Of the 19 patients with objective response, 7 patients had not had an event of disease progression or death at the time of study closure; duration of response for these patients ranged from 3.5 to 28 months. Of the 11 patients with CR, 45% had response durations of over 1 year. Adverse events (AEs) occurring in ≥25% of patients during the retreatment period were generally similar in type and frequency to those observed in the pivotal trials of brentuximab vedotin monotherapy, with the exception of peripheral neuropathy, which is known to have a cumulative effect. Grade 3 or higher events were observed in 48% of patients; these were generally transient and managed by dose modifications or delays. Deaths due to AEs occurred in 3 HL patients; none were considered to be related to brentuximab vedotin retreatment. DISCUSSION: With the exception of a higher rate of peripheral motor neuropathy, retreatment with brentuximab vedotin was associated with similar side effects seen in the pivotal trials. CONCLUSIONS: Retreatment with brentuximab vedotin monotherapy is associated with response rates in 68% (39% CR) of patients with relapsed HL and systemic ALCL. TRIAL REGISTRATION: United States registry and results database ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00947856

Necessary fictions: indigenous claims and the humanity of rights

Indigenous right insistently challenges the surpassing arrogations of sovereign right. In so doing, it affirms dimensions of being-together denied or stunted in sovereign modes of political formation. This force of Indigenous right is amplified here through legal and literary instantiations. These, in turn, uncover the continuously created and fictional quality of rights, revealing them to be necessary fictions

Generalized Canonical Regression

This paper introduces a generalized approach to canonical regression, in which a set of jointly dependent variables enters the left-hand side of the equation as a linear combination, formally like the linear combination of regressors in the right-hand side of the equation. Natural applications occur when the dependent variable is the sum of components that may optimally receive unequal weights or in time series models in which the appropriate timing of the dependent variable is not known a priori. The paper derives a quasi-maximum likelihood estimator as well as its asymptotic distribution and provides illustrative applications