The Uncertain Future of Administrative Law

A volatile series of presidential transitions has only intensified the century-long conflict between progressive defenders and conservative critics of the administrative state. Yet neither side has adequately confronted the fact that the growth of uncertainty and the corresponding spread of guidance – a kind of provisional “rule” that invites its own revision – mark a break in the development of the administrative state as significant as the rise of notice-and-comment rulemaking in the 1960s and 1970s. Whereas rulemaking corrected social shortsightedness by enlisting science in the service of lawful administration, guidance acknowledges that both science and law are in need of continual correction. Administrative law has the resources to ensure that the provisionality of guidance does not lead to the abuses that conservatives fear. But to deploy those resources – and to carry through the reforms of administrative organization that are their natural complement – progressives must rethink their commitments to judicial deference to administrative authority and administrative deference to presidential authority, commitments on which the progressive defense of the administrative state currently depends

The conservation status of mammals and avifauna in the Montagne des Français massif, Madagascar

The Montagne des Français is a limestone massif in northern Madagascar, which is characterised by a wide range of biotopes including xerophytic karst, gallery forest, dry western forest, grassland and caves. It is situated only 12 km from the regional capital, Antsiranana, and few, if any areas of primary forest remain. In the first comprehensive study to have been carried out at this location we report the presence of 12 mammal species. We also report the presence of 63 bird species. We use data derived from both structured and semi-structured interviews to assess the conservation status of the mammals and birds within the massif. Our study shows that local beliefs are dominated by taboos or fady and that these vary within families and communities. Current anthropogenic pressures on biodiversity include zebu grazing, charcoal production, hunting and rice cultivation. The massif was afforded Temporary Protected Area Status in 2006 and our results suggest that this protection should be made permanent. We propose opportunities for further research and sustainable development initiatives that could contribute to the conservation of the biological resources within the massif. Success in conserving this area will only be achieved if the local communities are fully engaged. RÉSUMÉ La Montagne des Français est un massif calcaire au nord de Madagascar, caractérisé par une vaste gamme de biotopes, y compris une formation calcaire connue localement sous le nom de ‘tsingy’ avec une végétation xérophyte, une forêt riveraine, une forêt sèche de l’ouest, des zones herbeuses et des grottes. Elle se trouve à 12 km seulement de la plus grande ville du nord, Antsiranana, et présente une couverture de forêts intactes extrêmement réduite. Le travail sur le terrain a été réalisé par des bénévoles de Frontier et des chercheurs de Frontier et de l’Université d’Antsiranana. Des inventaires on été effectués pendant une année, au cours de quatre périodes d’essais qui s’étalaient chacune sur une durée de l’ordre de neuf semaines. Les inventaires sur les mammifères ont fait appel à trois méthodes, dont les lignes de trous-pièges, l’emploi de pièges Sherman et des recherches nocturnes aléatoires. Un inventaire sur les oiseaux a été compilé, utilisant la technique de la liste de recensement McKinnon. Au cours de cette première étude détaillée portant sur cette localité, nous avons relevé la présence de 12 espèces de mammifères ainsi que la présence de 63 espèces d’oiseaux. Neuf des espèces de mammifères recensés sont endémiques à Madagascar et la plupart de ces espèces semblaient être représentées par des effectifs réduits sur la Montagne des Français au cours de la période d’étude. De toutes les espèces d’oiseaux reportées, 26 (41% ) sont endémiques de Madagascar. Afin d’évaluer l’état de conservation des mammifères et des oiseaux rencontrés à la Montagne des Français, nous avons utilisé des données recueillies au cours d’entrevues formelles et semi-formelles. Notre étude montre que les croyances locales sont dominées par des tabous ou fady et que ceux-ci varient selon les familles et communautés. Les pressions anthropogéniques actuelles qui pèsent sur la biodiversité sont représentées par le pâturage des zébus, la production de charbon de bois, la chasse et la culture de riz. En 2006 le massif a bénéficié d’un statut d’Aire Protégée Temporaire mais nos résultats suggèrent qu’un statut de protection permanente serait justifié. Nous proposons de poursuivre les efforts en matière de recherche et encourageons toute entreprise de développement durable qui pourrait contribuer à la conservation des ressources biologiques à l’intérieur du massif. La réussite de la protection de cette région ne pourra se faire sans la totale adhésion de l’ensemble des communautés locales

Mitotic Rate and Younger Age Are Predictors of Sentinel Lymph Node Positivity: Lessons Learned From the Generation of a Probabilistic Model

Background: Sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy allows surgeons to identify patients with subclinical nodal involvement who may benefit from lymphadenectomy and, possibly, adjuvant therapy. Several factors have been variably, and sometimes discordantly, reported to have predictive value for SLN metastasis to best select which patients require SLN biopsy.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/41402/1/10434_2004_Article_247.pd

The Uncertain Future of Administrative Law

The growing reliance on guidance – a kind of provisional “rule” that invites its own revision or qualification – marks a break in the development of the administrative state on the order of the transition from regulation by case-by-case adjudication to regulation by notice-and-comment rulemaking in the 1960s and 1970s. Where rulemaking aimed to correct social shortsightedness by the application of science in the service of law, guidance enables lawful action in the public interest when both science and law are recognized as themselves in need of continual correction. Guidance is the kind of law of which uncertainty admits. The centrality of guidance to contemporary administration, in turn, calls into question politically progressive defenses of the administrative state. These defenses ground the legality and legitimacy of administrative decisionmaking in the technical authority of professional administrators and the democratic authority of their political superiors, two forms of authority that are harmonized and largely self-disciplined by internally-generated hierarchical norms, which also serve as a shield against intrusive judicial review. Today, such deference to authority and hierarchy seems incautious, even reckless. Even when understood as a strategic bargain, necessary to protect the autonomy of the administrative state from a judiciary suspected – often rightly – of congenital animosity to administration itself, the progressive defense resembles a pact with the devil. The emerging law of guidance, and the reality of uncertainty to which it responds, points toward a different, and more defensible, conception of the administrative state: one that is aware of its own fallibility; that routinely invites challenges to its technical and political authority; and that continually responds to these challenges with reasons that are legible to the courts and to the public at large

Lymphangiogenesis-independent resolution of experimental edema

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-C is necessary for lymphangiogenesis, and excess VEGF-C has been shown to be ameliorative for edema produced by lymphatic obstruction in experimental models. However, it has recently been shown that edema can resolve in the mouse tail even in the complete absence of capillary lymphangiogenesis when distal lymph fluid crosses the regenerating wound site interstitially. This finding has raised questions about the action of VEGF-C/VEGF receptor (VEGFR) signaling during the resolution of experimental edema. Here, the roles of VEGFR-2 and VEGFR-3 signaling in edema resolution were explored. It was found that edema resolved following neutralization of either VEGFR-2 or VEGFR-3 in the mouse tail skin, which inhibited lymphangiogenesis. Neutralization of either VEGFR-2 or VEGFR-3 reduced angiogenesis at the site of obstruction at day 10 (9.2 ± 1.2% and 11.5 ± 1.0% blood capillary coverage, respectively) relative to controls (14.3 ± 1.5% blood capillary coverage). Combined VEGFR-2/-3 neutralization more strongly inhibited angiogenesis (6.9 ± 1.5% blood capillary coverage), leading to a reduced wound repair of the lymphatic obstruction and extended edema in the tail skin. In contrast, improved tissue repair of the obstruction site increased edema resolution. Macrophages in the swollen tissue were excluded as contributing factors in the VEGFR-dependent extended edema. These results support a role for VEGFR-2/-3-combined signaling in the resolution of experimental edema that is lymphangiogenesis independent

From the counting house to the modern office: explaining Anglo-American productivity differences in services, 1870–1990

The United States overtook Britain in comparative aggregate productivity levels primarily as a result of trends in services rather than trends in industry. This occurred during the transition from customized, low-volume, high-margin business organized on the basis of networks to standardized, high-volume, low-margin business with hierarchical management from the 1870s. This transformation from the counting house to the modern office was dependent on technologies that improved communications and information processing. The technologies were slower to diffuse in Britain as a result of lower levels of education and stronger labor-force resistance to intensification