To Secede or Not Secede? Is It Even Possible?

Secession seems like a concept of the past. In our increasingly globalizing world, nationalism was growing archaic and halting progress. But secession has seen a surge in the last ten years. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008. The United Kingdom seceded from the European Union in the infamous Brexit. And in 2017, Catalonia\u27s grab for independence sparked the worst crisis in Spain since the days of Francisco Franco.1 Alongside these high-profile secessions, smaller movements, which until now were simply brewing and bubbling, are becoming inspired. One such movement is The South is My Country, a coalition of three southern Brazilian states that wish to secede from Brazil. This paper will examine the Brazilian separatist movement. After introducing the movement and the history of modern Brazil in Part I, Part II will examine what Brazilian law has to say on secession with the Catalan crisis as a comparison. Part III will attempt to navigate the murky waters of international law to determine whether a group such as The South is My Country has a right to unilaterally secede

The estimated prevalence and incidence of late stage age related macular degeneration in the UK

BACKGROUND: UK estimates of age related macular degeneration (AMD) occurrence vary. AIMS: To estimate prevalence, number and incidence of AMD by type in the UK population aged ≥50 years. METHODS: Age-specific prevalence rates of AMD obtained from a Bayesian meta-analysis of AMD prevalence were applied to UK 2007-2009 population data. Incidence was estimated from modelled age-specific prevalence. RESULTS: Overall prevalence of late AMD was 2.4% (95% credible interval (CrI) 1.7% to 3.3%), equivalent to 513 000 cases (95% CrI 363 000 to 699 000); estimated to increase to 679 000 cases by 2020. Prevalences were 4.8% aged ≥65 years, 12.2% aged ≥80 years. Geographical atrophy (GA) prevalence rates were 1.3% (95% CrI 0.9% to 1.9%), 2.6% (95% CrI 1.8% to 3.7%) and 6.7% (95% CrI 4.6% to 9.6%); neovascular AMD (NVAMD) 1.2% (95% CrI 0.9% to 1.7%), 2.5% (95% CrI 1.8% to 3.4%) and 6.3% (95% CrI 4.5% to 8.6%), respectively. The estimated number of prevalent cases of late AMD were 60% higher in women versus men (314 000 cases in women, 192 000 men). Annual incidence of late AMD, GA and NVAMD per 1000 women was 4.1 (95% CrI 2.4% to 6.8%), 2.4 (95% CrI 1.5% to 3.9%) and 2.3 (95% CrI 1.4% to 4.0%); in men 2.6 (95% CrI 1.5% to 4.4%), 1.7 (95% CrI 1.0% to 2.8%) and 1.4 (95% CrI 0.8% to 2.4%), respectively. 71 000 new cases of late AMD were estimated per year. CONCLUSIONS: These estimates will guide health and social service provision for those with late AMD and enable estimation of the cost of introducing new treatments

Characterizing the Existence of Optimal Proof Systems and Complete Sets for Promise Classes.

In this paper we investigate the following two questions: Q1: Do there exist optimal proof systems for a given language L? Q2: Do there exist complete problems for a given promise class C? For concrete languages L (such as TAUT or SAT) and concrete promise classes C (such as NP∩coNP, UP, BPP, disjoint NP-pairs etc.), these ques-tions have been intensively studied during the last years, and a number of characterizations have been obtained. Here we provide new character-izations for Q1 and Q2 that apply to almost all promise classes C and languages L, thus creating a unifying framework for the study of these practically relevant questions. While questions Q1 and Q2 are left open by our results, we show that they receive affirmative answers when a small amount on advice is avail-able in the underlying machine model. This continues a recent line of research on proof systems with advice started by Cook and Kraj́ıček [6]

Fragile phase stability in (1-x)Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3O3)-xPbTiO3 crystals: A comparisons of [001] and [110] field-cooled phase diagrams

Phase diagrams of [001] and [110] field-cooled (FC) (1-x)Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3O3)-xPbTiO3 or PMN-xPT crystals have been constructed, based on high-resolution x-ray diffraction data. Comparisons reveal several interesting findings. First, a region of abnormal thermal expansion above the dielectric maximum was found, whose stability range extended to higher temperatures by application of electric field (E). Second, the rhombohedral (R) phase of the ZFC state was replaced by a monoclinic MA in the [001] FC diagram, but with monoclinic MB in the [110] FC. Third, the monoclinic MC phase in ZFC and [001] FC diagram was replaced by an orthorhombic (O) phase in the [110] FC. Finally, in the [001] FC diagram, the phase boundary between tetragonal (T) and MA was extended to lower PT contents (x=0.25); whereas in the [110] FC diagram, this extended region was entirely replaced by the O phase. These results clearly demonstrate that the phase stability of PMN-xPT crystals is quite fragile, depending not only on modest changes in E, but also on the direction along which that E is applied.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures, 1 tabl

The deduction theorem for strong propositional proof systems

This paper focuses on the deduction theorem for propositional logic. We define and investigate different deduction properties and show that the presence of these deduction properties for strong proof systems is powerful enough to characterize the existence of optimal and even polynomially bounded proof systems. We also exhibit a similar, but apparently weaker condition that implies the existence of complete disjoint NP-pairs. In particular, this yields a sufficient condition for the completeness of the canonical pair of Frege systems and provides a general framework for the search for complete NP-pairs

A Tight Karp-Lipton Collapse Result in Bounded Arithmetic

Cook and Krajíček [9] have obtained the following Karp-Lipton result in bounded arithmetic: if the theory proves , then collapses to , and this collapse is provable in . Here we show the converse implication, thus answering an open question from [9]. We obtain this result by formalizing in a hard/easy argument of Buhrman, Chang, and Fortnow [3]. In addition, we continue the investigation of propositional proof systems using advice, initiated by Cook and Krajíček [9]. In particular, we obtain several optimal and even p-optimal proof systems using advice. We further show that these p-optimal systems are equivalent to natural extensions of Frege systems

AIRBODS: Findings and guidance for airborne infection resilience, A publication of Airborne Infection Reduction through Building Operation and Design for SARS-CoV-2 (AIRBODS)

This guidance provides insights into airborne infection risks and proposes mitigation measures to improve airborne infection resilience of indoor and semi-outdoor spaces. In some poorly-ventilated and/or highly occupied spaces, the provision of increased ventilation performance can be the key to reducing airborne infection risk down to 'acceptable' (although currently undefined)levels. This is a complex area of study with many areas of uncertainty that form the basis of ongoing research. That said, the AIRBODS programme, in the context of the global research efforts associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, has generated a sound basis for improving airborne infection resilience. Key aspects of the guide with its many recommendations include: • Experiments carried out in a test chamber showing how screens can improve or, even, worsen airborne infection risk. • Field studies undertaken as part of the Events Research Programmewhichunderpinned the opening up of the UK hospitality sector in the summer of 2021. Good practice advice is provided on how to drive high-resolution CO2 and microbiological studies and then appropriately interpret results. • Analyticalmodelswere developed to understand how infection risk, using a mass balance approach with many different parameters, might be mitigated in some circumstances when compared to reference spaces. These models were then developed into a 'full building' tool which can be downloaded as part of this guidance. • Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models were developed to provide insights into the physics of droplets or aerosols at microscale. Following completion of a test chamber validation exercise, models were developed to investigate breathing or coughing mannequins at single human moving towards audience or crowd scale. Local ventilation effectiveness and associated airborne infection risk aspects of some real spaces may significantly differ from assumed 'fully-mixed' equivalent spaces. This, along with a number of other issues, will form part of ongoing research activities. • Focus groups were also used to provide some wider context and support some of our recommendations. AIRBODS has produced a repository of data and modelling methods with the mindset of enabling building professionals to inform their design and operation decisions towards improving airborne infection resilience in their buildings