On planar self-similar sets with a dense set of rotations

We prove that if $E$ is a planar self-similar set with similarity dimension $d$ whose defining maps generate a dense set of rotations, then the $d$-dimensional Hausdorff measure of the orthogonal projection of $E$ onto any line is zero. We also prove that the radial projection of $E$ centered at any point in the plane also has zero $d$-dimensional Hausdorff measure. Then we consider a special subclass of these sets and give an upper bound for the Favard length of $E(\rho)$ where $E(\rho)$ denotes the $\rho$-neighborhood of the set $E$.Comment: 16 page

Whose Trojan Horse? The Dynamics of Resistance Against IFRS

The introduction of International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”) has been debated in the United States since at least the accounting scandals of the early 2000s. While publicly traded firms around the world are increasingly switching to IFRS, often because they are required to do so by law or by their stock exchange, the Securities Exchange Com-mission (“SEC”) seems to have become more reticent in recent years. Only foreign issuers have been permitted to use IFRS in the United States since 2007. By contrast, the EU has mandated the use of IFRS in the consolidated financial statements of publicly traded firms since 2005. In the United States, IFRS, which are promulgated by the London-based Inter-national Accounting Standards Board (“IASB”), are often seen as an at-tempt by Europeans to colonize U.S. accounting standard setting, and as an element of a foreign legal system alien to U.S. capital markets and securities law. In this article, we suggest that this perception is actually a myth, which we attempt to debunk. In fact, the introduction of IFRS in Europe, particularly Continental Europe, was far from controversial. IFRS were promoted by Anglo-Saxon jurisdictions and strongly support-ed by the United States, particularly when capital markets internationalized in the 1990s. They were—and still are—in many ways at odds with the Continental European accounting cultures of countries such as France and Germany, on whose examples we draw. In spite of the EU mandate for publicly traded firms, accounting law in these jurisdictions has still not fully absorbed IFRS; nevertheless, for now a solution that reconciles traditional and international accounting has been found. In this article, we explore the problems and resistance of IFRS in Continental Europe and seek to draw lessons for the United States. We argue that given the shared heritage of U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”) and IFRS as investor-oriented accounting standards, their introduction in the United States should be considerably easier than it was on the other side of the Atlantic

The role of astrocyte-secreted matricellular proteins in central nervous system development and function

Matricellular proteins, such as thrombospondins (TSPs1-4), SPARC, SPARC-like1 (hevin) and tenascin C are expressed by astrocytes in the central nervous system (CNS) of rodents. The spatial and temporal expression patterns of these proteins suggest that they may be involved in important developmental processes such as cell proliferation and maturation, cell migration, axonal guidance and synapse formation. In addition, upon injury to the nervous system the expression of these proteins is upregulated, suggesting that they play a role in tissue remodeling and repair in the adult CNS. The genes encoding these proteins have been disrupted in mice. Interestingly, none of these proteins are required for survival, and furthermore, there are no evident abnormalities at the gross anatomical level in the CNS. However, detailed analyses of some of these mice in the recent years have revealed interesting CNS phenotypes. Here we will review the expression of these proteins in the CNS. We will discuss a newly described function for thrombospondins in synapse formation in the CNS in detail, and speculate whether other matricellular proteins could play similar roles in nervous system development and function

Modeling and Characterization of Rate Phenomena in Complex Electrochemical Systems: Sodium-Metal Chloride Batteries and Ni/SiC Co-Deposition

In the first part of the dissertation (Chapters 3-5), the effect of a cationic dispersant, polyethyleneimine (PEI) on the co-deposition of micro and nano SiC particles with nickel is characterized and modeled. A major challenge in Ni/SiC co-deposition for wear-resistant coatings is that the dispersants that are used to stabilize the particles in the electrolyte to ensure high and uniform particle incorporation into the deposit can significantly affect the electrodeposition kinetics. To overcome this challenge, studies of particle dispersion and electrodeposition are integrated. The effect of PEI on the electrodeposition of Ni/SiC composites is characterized as a function of SiC and PEI bath concentration, current density, rotation speed, molecular weight of PEI and particle size. A pre-coating procedure, in which SiC particles are pre-coated with PEI in a different electrolyte prior to plating, is described. With the pre-coating procedure, high particle stability in the plating bath is obtained. In addition, a significant increase on the SiC incorporation rate is seen without any substantial decrease on the current efficiency for both micro- and nano-composites. Furthermore, using pre-coated particles in the presence of a leveling agent is found to be advantageous relative to the direct addition of PEI into the electrolyte. The efficacy of employing the pre-coating procedure in manufacturing, where plating baths need a long life, is also found to be satisfactory. The use of pre-coated SiC particles changes the morphology, decreases the surface roughness and increases the hardness of the deposits for both particle sizes. Finally, a mathematical model of the co-deposition is proposed. The rate of incorporation is proportional to the residence time, inversely proportional to the burial time, and is proportional to the number density of particles on the surface. These times are influenced by the hydrodynamics, particle size, current density, and concentration of dispersants. SiC incorporation increases with the introduction of PEI due to an increase in the residence time of the particles on the surface. In the second part of the dissertation, a sodium-metal chloride battery, which is another important complex electrochemical system, is studied. A one-dimensional mathematical model of the porous cathode of a sodium-iron chloride battery for an isothermal, constant-current discharge-charge cycle is presented. In sodium-iron chloride batteries, it is desirable to maintain low FeCl2 solubility to minimize redistribution of active material in the cell. However, the iron chloride is sparingly soluble, and with increased cycling, it does redistribute. None of the previous models can predict this movement of the metal that takes place in the cell with increased cycling that can cause the failure of the cell. An advance offered by the model presented is that it accounts for the change in the solubility of FeCl2 within the cell and predicts the relocation of the iron by including the flux of a sparingly soluble ferrous complex. For instance, the model predicts that at the end of the fifth cycle, the iron amount decreases by ~1% near the sodium tetrachloroaluminate reservoir

Liability of Multinational Enterprises for Their Subsidiaries' Torts

PhDThe purpose of the thesis is to examine problems related to the liability of multinational enterprises (MNEs) for their subsidiaries' torts. The reason for the existence of the problems is that the legal theories and practice fail to understand interdisciplinary features of MNEs. Thus, there have been no satisfactory solutions to the problem of tort liability of MNEs. In order to understand the questions of liability, there should be an examination of the concept of multinational enterprise using interdisciplinary methodology. Thus, the thesis, in the first section, examines the social, economic, managerial and legal characteristics of MNEs and compares the findings of this examination to the current understanding of MNEs in the way that tort liability is applied to them. As a result, there is a conflict between legal understanding of the structure of MNEs and contemporary realities; while legal practice considers MNEs as simple vertically structured organisations; an interdisciplinary examination reveals more complex horizontal structures with different characteristics. This conflict creates problems of liability and also prevents satisfactory solutions to problems of tort liability in the context of MNEs. In the second section, the thesis examines the existing laws related to liability of MNEs from different jurisdictions. The aim of this examination is to assess whether these laws are adequate for the challenges modern MNEs create. The thesis seeks in each sub-section to understand how groups of companies are conceived by these laws and how liability rules would be different if modern understandings of MNEs are applied in these cases. In the final section, the thesis aims to identify the basic problems of achieving satisfactory tort liability for MNEs and it offers solutions to the problems of liability for MNEs subsidiaries' tort based on the findings in the first and the second parts of the thesis

Information retrieval from spaceborne GNSS Reflectometry observations using physics- and learning-based techniques

This dissertation proposes a learning-based, physics-aware soil moisture (SM) retrieval algorithm for NASA’s Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) mission. The proposed methodology has been built upon the literature review, analyses, and findings from a number of published studies throughout the dissertation research. Namely, a Sig- nals of Opportunity Coherent Bistatic scattering model (SCoBi) has been first developed at MSU and then its simulator has been open-sourced. Simulated GNSS-Reflectometry (GNSS-R) analyses have been conducted by using SCoBi. Significant findings have been noted such that (1) Although the dominance of either the coherent reflections or incoher- ent scattering over land is a debate, we demonstrated that coherent reflections are stronger for flat and smooth surfaces covered by low-to-moderate vegetation canopy; (2) The influ- ence of several land geophysical parameters such as SM, vegetation water content (VWC), and surface roughness on the bistatic reflectivity was quantified, the dynamic ranges of reflectivity changes due to SM and VWC are much higher than the changes due to the surface roughness. Such findings of these analyses, combined with a comprehensive lit- erature survey, have led to the present inversion algorithm: Physics- and learning-based retrieval of soil moisture information from space-borne GNSS-R measurements that are taken by NASA’s CYGNSS mission. The study is the first work that proposes a machine learning-based, non-parametric, and non-linear regression algorithm for CYGNSS-based soil moisture estimation. The results over point-scale soil moisture observations demon- strate promising performance for applicability to large scales. Potential future work will be extension of the methodology to global scales by training the model with larger and diverse data sets