Parmenides: \u27To Be\u27 or \u27Not to Be\u27

I will seek to test the possibility that Parmenides was referring, in the Way of Being (the Aletheia), to existence-as-a-whole. According to this hypothesis Parmenides, in expounding \u27the first way\u27 should be understood to be making clear what can be said without contradiction about existence-as-a-whole, i.e. about what is, about Being

The U.S. Law Regime of Sovereign Immunity and the Sovereign Wealth Funds

This article is concerned with the applicability of sovereign immunity to the so-called sovereign wealth funds (“SWFs”) within the U.S. legal system. While sovereign immunity has existed for at least two centuries, SWFs and the types of investment activities they conduct on behalf of their parent foreign states are a rather recent phenomenon. As a result, the issue of the applicability of the rules on sovereign immunity to the SWFs poses novel legal challenges and difficulties. In a nutshell, this article is intended to answer the following questions: Are SWFs entitled to invoke sovereign immunity before U.S. courts? If so, what is the U.S. law regime of sovereign immunity applicable to the case of the SWFs

Using sap flow measurements to estimate net assimilation in olive trees under different irrigation regimes

The measurement of bulk net assimilation (A) in fruit tree species is hindered by the need for sophisticated and complex instrumentation. The aim of this study is to present a simple alternative for estimating A from sap flow measurements and meteorological records. The proposed method was tested in a mature hedgerow olive orchard of 22.2 ha. Within the orchard, an irrigation experiment was established in a small plot including three treatments: a full irrigated control (CI), a regulated deficit irrigation (DI) and one additional treatment mimicking the customary orchard irrigation management (FI). Determinations of sap flow, water potential (Ψ) and trunk diameter variations (TDV) were conducted in the three treatments for three years. Also, measurements of net ecosystem exchange (NEE) were performed with an eddy covariance system in the centre of the orchard for the first season. The validity of the method was supported by the fact that our estimates of A were consistent with both the measured values of NEE and published data on the same species under similar environmental and management conditions. Also, differences in A between irrigation treatments were generally coherent with the ones in irrigation applied, transpiration (Ep), Ψ and TDV. It is concluded that the proposed sap flow-based method represents a user-friendly approach to estimate A at the canopy-level with potential to study the effects of deficit irrigation on biomass accumulation

On the prelude to the Timaeus, and the Atlantis-story

Does the Timaeus Identify Itself as a Sequel to the Repubilc? The Timaeus Version of the Atlantis Story. The Literalist Summary of "[Yesterday's"] State, & the Illusionism of 'Xthes'. The Kritias Version of the First Part of the Atlantis Story. Clumsy Prose in the Prelude to the Timaeus. Co-opting Solon for Oligarchy. Scrutinizing the Ante-Cosmogonic Part of the Timaeus. Signs that the Kritias is a Children's Foundation-Story. The ideology behind the Kritias. Appendix of Key Words.Este ensayo considera la falta de éxito en el esfuerzo de presentar al diálogo Timeo como secuela de la Republica de Platón. Se examina la versión del cuento de Atlantis que se encuentra en el Timeo. El resumen "literalista" del estado descrito en el discurso de "ayer". La versión de la primera parte del cuento de Atlantis que se ofrece en el Kritias. Prosa inepta en el preludio del Timeo. La captación de Solón para propósitos oligarquistas. Examen del preludio antecosmogónico de Timeo. Las señas de que el Kritias es un cuento para instruir a los niños sobre la fundación de la cuidad. La ideología que inspira al Kritias

Using sap flow measurements to estimate net assimilation in olive trees under different irrigation regimes

The measurement of bulk net assimilation (A) in fruit tree species is hindered by the need for sophisticated and complex instrumentation. The aim of this study is to present a simple alternative for estimating A from sap flow measurements and meteorological records. The proposed method was tested in a mature hedgerow olive orchard of 22.2 ha. Within the orchard, an irrigation experiment was established in a small plot including three treatments: a full irrigated control (CI), regulated deficit irrigation (DI) and a treatment mimicking customary orchard irrigation management (FI). Determinations of sap flow, water potential (Ψ) and trunk diameter variations (TDV) were conducted in the three treatments for 3 years. Also, measurements of net ecosystem exchange (NEE) were performed with an eddy covariance system in the centre of the orchard for the first season. The validity of the method was supported by the fact that estimates of A were consistent with both the measured values of NEE and published data regarding the same species under similar environmental and management conditions. Also, differences in A between irrigation treatments were generally in agreement with irrigation applied, transpiration (Ep), Ψ and TDV. It is concluded that the proposed sap flow-based method represents a user-friendly approach to estimate A at the canopy level with potential to study the effects of DI on biomass accumulation.This work was funded by the Andalusian Regional Government (Junta de Andalucía, Project P10-AGR-6456), the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO, project AGL-2010-20766) and European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). In addition, we thank the Spanish Research Council (CSIC) predoctoral JAE program and again the aforementioned project AGL-2010-20766 for providing the PhD scholarship granted to the first and second author, respectively. Besides that, the authors also acknowledge the excellent technical support provided by Mr Rafael del Río, Mr Ignacio Calatrava and Mr José Luis Vazquez.Peer reviewe