The Case for an Autonomy-Centred View of Physician-Assisted Death

Most people who defend physician-assisted death (PAD) endorse the Joint View, which holds that two conditions—autonomy and welfare—must be satisfied for PAD to be justified. In this paper, we defend an Autonomy Only view. We argue that the welfare condition is either otiose on the most plausible account of the autonomy condition, or else is implausibly restrictive, particularly once we account for the broad range of reasons patients cite for desiring PAD, such as “tired of life” cases. Moreover, many of the common objections to an Autonomy Only view fail once we understand the extent of the autonomy condition’s requirements—in particular, the importance of one’s values for autonomous choices. If our view is correct, then the scope of permissible PAD is broader than is currently accepted in both the philosophical literature and the law, and therefore poses an important challenge to this widely accepted view on justified PAD

Heat-Cleaned Nextel in MMOD Shielding

Meteoroid and orbital debris (MMOD) shielding can include NextelTM ceramic cloth in the outer layers of the shielding to enhance MMOD breakup. The Nextel fabric can contain size (or sizing) which aids in manufacture of the fabric. Sizing is a starch, oil or waxy material that is added to the rovings and yarns to protect the fibers from being cut or broken during the fabric manufacturing process and by later handling. For spacecraft applications, sizing is removed by heat-cleaning to reduce/eliminate off-gassing during vacuum operations. After the sizing is removed, the fibers in the woven fabric are prone to breakage during handling which reduces fabric strength. Because heat-cleaned Nextel tends to shed fibers that can be irritating to workers, the usual practice for hypervelocity impact tests is to use Nextel with sizing. The reduced strength of heat-cleaned Nextel does not typically effect the performance of MMOD shields with Nextel used in outer layers of the shield, because the density and areal density of the ceramic fibers in the fabric control MMOD breakup (not fabric strength). This paper provides data demonstrating that hypervelocity impact protection performance is not adversely altered for shields containing heat-cleaned Nextel compared to Nextel with sizing

Cooperative catalysis by silica-supported organic functional groups

Hybrid inorganic–organic materials comprising organic functional groups tethered from silica surfaces are versatile, heterogeneous catalysts. Recent advances have led to the preparation of silica materials containing multiple, different functional groups that can show cooperative catalysis; that is, these functional groups can act together to provide catalytic activity and selectivity superior to what can be obtained from either monofunctional materials or homogeneous catalysts. This tutorial review discusses cooperative catalysis of silica-based catalytic materials, focusing on the cooperative action of acid–base, acid–thiol, amine–urea, and imidazole–alcohol–carboxylate groups. Particular attention is given to the effect of the spatial arrangement of these organic groups and recent developments in the spatial organization of multiple groups on the silica surface

Hydrodynamic friction of fakir-like super-hydrophobic surfaces

A fluid droplet located on a super-hydrophobic surface makes contact with the surface only at small isolated regions, and is mostly in contact with the surrounding air. As a result, a fluid in motion near such a surface experiences very low friction, and super-hydrophobic surfaces display strong drag-reduction in the laminar regime. Here we consider theoretically a super-hydrophobic surface composed of circular posts (so called fakir geometry) located on a planar rectangular lattice. Using a superposition of point forces with suitably spatially-dependent strength, we derive the effective surface slip length for a planar shear flow on such a fakir surface as the solution to an infinite series of linear equations. In the asymptotic limit of small surface coverage by the posts, the series can be interpreted as Riemann sums, and the slip length can be obtained analytically. For posts on a square lattice, our analytical results are in excellent quantitative agreement with previous numerical computations

Comparing Characterization Methods of Fusarium Ear Rot Resistance in Corn

Abstract Fusarium Ear Rot in corn is a disease that produces toxins known as fumonisins that are harmful to humans and other animals. Characterizing and improving the resistance to Fusarium Ear Rot in corn is important to corn seed producers like Corteva to reduce fumonisin exposure in humans and livestock. To characterize corn hybrids Corteva visually inspects ears each from a single corn variety and scores them based on observed symptoms. This experiment was intended to compare different methods of characterizing Fusarium Ear Rot resistance in order to improve the accuracy and efficiency of Corteva’s characterization methods. Four methods of characterization were compared. The first method was the traditional visual assessment. The second method was quantitative analysis of a grain sample for the amount of fumonisin toxins present. The third method was collecting images of ear piles and using a computer program to quantify the amount of symptomatic corn versus healthy corn based on color. The fourth method was collecting images of loose kernels and using a computer program to measure the amount of symptomatic corn versus healthy corn based on color. The third and fourth method use digital image analysis which is known as photometry. Statistical analysis of the data included Pearson’s correlation, linear regression and logistic regression analyses to compare the different methods. Correlation and regression statistics indicate a strong relationship between the four methods of characterization. Whole ear photometry performed equally as well as visual inspection at predicting the amount of fumonisin toxins present in a sample. Loose kernel photometry did not perform as well as the visual method or whole ear photometry, but still performed well enough at predicting fumonisin concentrations in a sample to potentially be used for characterization. Photometry shows potential as an effective characterization method for Fusarium Ear Rot resistance that could reduce the potential for human error and be more easily automated than visual inspections or laboratory analysis for toxins

A Model Curriculum for Selected Physical Adaptations for Students with Special Needs, in Alignment with Washington State Essential Academic Learning Requirements (EALR\u27s)

The purpose of this project was to develop a model curriculum for selected physical education adaptations for student with special needs, in alignment with Washington Essential Academic Learning Requirements (EALR\u27s). To accomplish this purpose, a review of selected literature was conducted. Additionally, related information from selected sources was obtained and analyzed. The model curriculum was developed for implementation in the Ellensburg School District in the 2002-2003 school year

Why we should keep worrying about the atomic bomb

“… the members of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists Science and Security Board have looked closely at the world situation and found it highly threatening to humanity—so threatening that the hands of the Doomsday Clock must once again be set at three minutes to midnight, two minutes closer to catastrophe than in 2014…Meanwhile, as they slow the pace of disarmament, the nuclear weapon states have given other strong indications that they are committed to retaining nuclear weapons for the indefinite future” - Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (2015). Three Minutes and Counting . Nuclear proliferation and climate change pose the greatest threats to humanity. Climate change will have major effects in the coming 50 years, but nuclear risks are always present. The world is unstable and developed or developing nations are looking to nuclear weapons as a form of ultimate deterrence. Humanity narrowly avoided the grips of nuclear catastrophe during the Cold War and Cuban Missile Crisis, but isolated nuclear events have still occurred. Nuclear energy facilities like Chernobyl, Fukushima, and Three Mile Island have all failed. Each of these facilities experienced nuclear meltdown that costed human lives, decades of environmental damage, and billions of dollars. Japan\u27s Fukushima disaster is estimated to cost the government over 170 billion USD in total damages in the coming decade. Weapon-Grade and nuclear energy facilities are not needed as deterrents and are not required to achieve wide scale clean, energy production. Legislation like Nuclear Weapons Abolition and Economic and Energy Conversion Act of 2015 properly addresses nuclear proliferation. The bill has three main goals: A multinational treaty for the dismantlement and elimination of all nuclear weapons Redirect resources going towards nuclear programs and put it towards weapon elimination and constructing other sources of renewable energy Actively promote policies to promote other countries to join nuclear treaties to create a more secure world The United States has a huge role in influencing the reduction of nuclear proliferation as we have a far reach across the world. The US needs to take the lead and promote policies to lower risk of a nuclear event from a weapon-grade nuclear bomb or fallout from an energy reactor. A modern nuclear warhead causes not only a direct blast the size of a smaller city, but also causes firestorms, earthquakes, gale force winds, electronic failure, extensive radiation, and a nuclear winter caused by heavy ash blocking out the sun. A nuclear winter is predicted to last 10 years leaving the planet in record low temperatures. Due to these low temperatures, widespread widespread famine is possible from low agricultural production. Civilian nuclear reactors producing energy are just a couple of steps away from a weapons facility and should be treated as such especially in developing countries. Weapons production is hid easily under the guise of clean energy with no international mediator. The recent Iranian nuclear deal is a perfect example of outside nations attempting to lower the threats of potential nuclear development. Dr. Matthew Fuhrmann, an associate professor of political science at Texas A&M University, suggests in his study Spreading Temptation , that Participation in at least one nuclear cooperation agreement increases the likelihood of beginning a bomb program by about 500 percent. The correlation between civilian nuclear energy production and weapons production are causally related. The levelized cost of the electricity (LCOE) is much higher for nuclear energy than it is for any other renewable resource. The LOCE is the very minimum electric companies can charge to break even on their investment. The Energy Information Administration or EIA, in their annual 2015 report, showed that the LCOE for nuclear is 103$/MWh which is almost double that of wind and solar at 65$/MWh and 85$/MWh, respectively. Planning, licensing, construction, and commissioning of nuclear facilities can take as long as 10-20 years. According to the Nuclear Energy Agency, construction generally takes up to 5-7 years without delays. In addition, the Nuclear Energy Institute says licensure and planning can last at a minimum of five years. Wide scale solar and wind energy can be implemented and connected to the grid in less than a year and immediately start reducing our carbon footprint. The repercussions of a nuclear accident are extremely costly and the risk only increases with increased construction of nuclear facilities. These plants are more costly than other renewable technologies and take much longer to start up. It is in our best interest to leverage domestic and international policy to decrease the number of nuclear facilities and create other alternative, more stable, carbon-free sources of energy

Positive definite binary quadratic forms

Call number: LD2668 .R4 1967 D3