Of Mushrooms and Method: History and the Family in Hobbes’s Science of Politics

Hobbes’s account of the commonwealth is standardly interpreted to be primarily a theory of contract, whereby the archetypal manner of forming a political community is via an act of mutual agreement between suspicious individuals of equal power. By examining Hobbes’s theories of the pre-political family, and what he says about the role of real history in the development of political societies, I conclude that this standard interpretation is untenable. Rather, Hobbes’s conception of commonwealth ‘by institution’ is a hypothetical model used to illustrate the mechanics of sovereignty, and to reconcile men to the conditions of subjection to absolute political power. In practice, all sovereignty is originally by ‘acquisition’. Realizing this casts serious doubt on the possibility that Hobbes is a fundamentally democratic thinker. In turn, we are invited to reconsider the history of political thought after Hobbes, in particular by seeing his theory of the family and of history as a genealogical ancestor of Scottish Enlightenment political theory.This work was supported by The Arts and Humanities Research Council block grant, and the University of Cambridge Faculty of History Prince Consort & Thirlwall Trust.This is the accepted manuscript version. The final version is available from http://ept.sagepub.com/content/early/2014/04/21/1474885114531237.abstract

Vibrational States of the Hydrogen Isotopes on Pd(111)

The ground and excited vibrational states for the three hydrogen isotopes on the Pd(111) surface have been calculated. Notable features of these states are the high degree of anharmonicity, which is most prominently seen in the weak isotopic dependence of the parallel vibrational transition, and the narrow bandwidths of these states, which imply that atomic hydrogen is localized on a particular surface site on time scales of 100 picoseconds or more. Experiments to resolve ambiguities concerning the present system are suggested.Comment: Surface Science Letters, 302, L305 (1994

Design and baseline characteristics of the finerenone in reducing cardiovascular mortality and morbidity in diabetic kidney disease trial

Background: Among people with diabetes, those with kidney disease have exceptionally high rates of cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality and progression of their underlying kidney disease. Finerenone is a novel, nonsteroidal, selective mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist that has shown to reduce albuminuria in type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) while revealing only a low risk of hyperkalemia. However, the effect of finerenone on CV and renal outcomes has not yet been investigated in long-term trials. Patients and Methods: The Finerenone in Reducing CV Mortality and Morbidity in Diabetic Kidney Disease (FIGARO-DKD) trial aims to assess the efficacy and safety of finerenone compared to placebo at reducing clinically important CV and renal outcomes in T2D patients with CKD. FIGARO-DKD is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, event-driven trial running in 47 countries with an expected duration of approximately 6 years. FIGARO-DKD randomized 7,437 patients with an estimated glomerular filtration rate >= 25 mL/min/1.73 m(2) and albuminuria (urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio >= 30 to <= 5,000 mg/g). The study has at least 90% power to detect a 20% reduction in the risk of the primary outcome (overall two-sided significance level alpha = 0.05), the composite of time to first occurrence of CV death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or hospitalization for heart failure. Conclusions: FIGARO-DKD will determine whether an optimally treated cohort of T2D patients with CKD at high risk of CV and renal events will experience cardiorenal benefits with the addition of finerenone to their treatment regimen. Trial Registration: EudraCT number: 2015-000950-39; ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02545049

Puncturevine

Puncturevine (Tribulus terrestris L.) is also commonly referred to as tackweed, puncture weed, Mexican sandbur, Texas sandbur, goathead, caltrop, and bullhead. This non-native plant of the southern Europe and Mediterranean region likely showed up in the United States and later the PNW due to seed movement. Since its introduction, human activity and animals have introduced and spread the plant throughout much of the United States and Pacific Northwest. Puncturevine fruits resemble the caltrop, a metal device used in medieval warfare which was placed on the ground with one spike up to slow advancing armies. This weed is a member of a small genus composed of about 12 species in the Caltrop family (Zygophyllaceae). The genus name, Tribulus, derives from the Greek word tribolus, “spiny plant,” which refers to the spiny fruits. This publication is intended to assist growers, crop advisors, pesticide applicators, and homeowners to effectively manage this weed

Pinpointing Evidence-Based Information: How to Find the Needle in the Information Haystack

Book Summary: Financial Management for Nurse Managers: Merging the Heart with the Dollar, Third Edition is an essential text for nursing students and professionals because it addresses the financial management issues faced by nurse managers. Chief nursing officers and those in nurse administrator roles will also find this text valuable because of the acute focus on the financial impact of administrative and management decisions across hospitals and healthcare organizations. The Third Edition covers a broad range of topics, and demonstrates the interconnectivity between finance and other aspects of health care through evidence in healthcare finance, economics and cost accounting, budgeting, staffing effectiveness, and legal and ethical issues. The text is expertly organized and includes real-world examples to lend context to the reader. Coverage of the value-based reimbursement system is an integral component of the Third Edition. The authors emphasize the concept of giving the patient what is valued and recommend listening to patient needs, collaboration in healthcare decision-making, and shifting the role of the administrator to support care leaders. Additionally, the text has been updated to reflect the impact of the Affordable Care Act

Puncturevine

Puncturevine (Tribulus terrestris L.) is also commonly referred to as tackweed, puncture weed, Mexican sandbur, Texas sandbur, goathead, caltrop, and bullhead. This non-native plant of the southern Europe and Mediterranean region likely showed up in the United States and later the PNW due to seed movement. Since its introduction, human activity and animals have introduced and spread the plant throughout much of the United States and Pacific Northwest. Puncturevine fruits resemble the caltrop, a metal device used in medieval warfare which was placed on the ground with one spike up to slow advancing armies. This weed is a member of a small genus composed of about 12 species in the Caltrop family (Zygophyllaceae). The genus name, Tribulus, derives from the Greek word tribolus, “spiny plant,” which refers to the spiny fruits. This publication is intended to assist growers, crop advisors, pesticide applicators, and homeowners to effectively manage this weed