And Justice for All: Viewing the wealth of three United States billionaires through three theories of distributive justice

Wealth inequality in the United States has now hit levels not last seen since the 1920s. With this, has come a general disagreement over how to address this inequality, as well as a debate on whether it’s even an issue. Since no clear consensus has been reached, a theory that describes what is just and what is unjust wealth accumulation is needed. By summarizing the theories of traditional Libertarianism, left libertarianism and Luck Egalitarianism, and applying them to the fortunes of Oprah Winfrey, Richard Sackler and Jeff Bezos, this paper arrives at the conclusion that a version of traditional Libertarianism is what’s currently practiced in the United States. Additionally, if wealth inequality is to be confronted, then left libertarianism should be adopted as the new standard of distributive justice

Some hemiurid trematodes of marine fishes of California

The following seven species of hemiurid trematodes, some with new host records, are reported in this study: Dissosaccus laevis, Genolinea laticauda, Lecithaster salmonis, Parahemiurus merus, Sterrhurus exodicus, Sterrhurus monticelli and Tubulovesicula lindbergi. Dissosaocus laeyis and Sterrhurus monticelli are reported for the first time from the West Coast of North America. Genolinea oncorhynohi Adams and Margolis 1958 is placed in synonymy with Genolinea laticauda Manter 1925. Keys for Genolinea and Tubulovesicula species, modified from Manter (1954) are included. Two tables, one summarizing the hemiurids reported from the West Coast of North America, the other a summary of hemiurids from Monterey Bay, California, encountered in this study, are also included

N-Heterocyclic Carbene Ligated Group 11 Trimethylsilylchalcogenolates: Building Blocks for Heterometallic Chalcogenide Molecules

The synthesis of heterometallic chalcogenide molecules requires the continued investigation into the appropriate reagents necessary to introduce metal – chalcogen bonds in a controlled fashion. Trimethylsilyl metallochalcogenolates (MESiMe3) act as synthons introducing “ME–“ in solution upon reacting with an appropriate ternary metal reagent, MX (X= halide, acetate, etc.). Recent work makes use of N–heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) as a class of ancillary ligand that can stabilize these reagents and the heterometallic chalcogenide molecules obtained with them. Building on previous work, this thesis describes the synthesis of group 11 trimethylsilyl metallochalcogenolates stabilized by bis–1,3–tritylimidazole–2–ylidene (abbreviated ITr) to build this library of compounds and investigate their reactivity towards dinuclear chalcogenide molecules, [(ITr)2M(μ2–E)M’] (M=Cu, Ag, Au; E=S, Se). Surprisingly, the reaction of [ITrMESiMe3] with [ITrMOAc] did not yield the desired products in a selective manner. Attempts are made to rationalize the failure to obtain both the homo and heterometallic compounds by this general method and by other previously established techniques

FDG PET and alternative imaging in the management of thyroid carcinoma

Differentiated carcinoma of the thyroid are one of rare malignancies that is associated with excellent prognosis. Follow-up with regular thyroglobulin assay and 131I whole-body scan is capable of detecting residual or recurrent disease with great sensitivity and specificity. However, there is overwhelming evidence to suggest that this approach is not fail-safe due to increasing reports of false negative and false positive results, which may result in missed or unwarranted therapy with 131I. This article will review the current management of differentiated carcinoma of the thyroid and the possible causes of the reported inadequacy of thyroglobulin and 131I whole-body scan to detect residual or recurrent disease, and the increasing role of alternative imaging, particularly 18F-FDG PET in the management of this curable malignancy

Atomistic modeling of grain boundary behavior under shear conditions in magnesium and magnesium-based binary alloys

In this study, the structure, the energetic, and the strength of a symmetric tilt grain boundary in magnesium and magnesium binary alloys were analyzed in the framework of (semi-)empirical potentials. Following a systematic investigation of the transferability and accuracy of the interatomic potentials, atomistic calculations of the grain boundary energy, the grain boundary sliding energy, and the grain boundary strength were performed in pure magnesium and in binary MgX alloys (X = Al, Ca, Gd, Li, Sn, Y, Ag, Nd, and Pb). The data gained in this study were analyzed to identify the most critical material parameters controlling the strength of the grain boundary, and their consequence on atomic shuffling motions occurring at the grain boundary. From the methodology perspective, the role of in-plane and out-of plane relaxation on the grain boundary sliding energy curves was investigated. In pure magnesium, the results showed that in-plane relaxation is critical in activating twinning dislocation resulting in grain boundary migration. In the alloy systems, however, grain boundary migration was disabled as a consequence of the pinning of the grain boundary by segregated elements. Finally, while the grain boundary energy, the shape of the grain boundary sliding energy curves, and the grain boundary sliding energy are critical parameters controlling the grain boundary strength in pure magnesium, only the grain boundary energy and the segregation energy of the alloying elements at the grain boundary were identified as critical material parameters in the alloys system

New Analytical Method for the Determination of Metronidazole in Human Plasma: Application to Bioequivalence Study

Purpose: To develop new sensitive, accurate, rapid and reproducible high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method to determine  metronidazole levels in human plasma and to apply the method in a bioequivalence study.Methods: Metronidazole was extracted from human plasma through one step of protein precipitation by methanol using carbamazepine as internal standard (IS). After centrifugation of the plasma sample, the supernatant layer was separated and injected into HPLC system using Eclipse XDB-phenyl column. The mobile phase consisted of phosphate buffer (pH 4.5): acetonitrile (95:5, v/v). The UV detector was set at 320 nm. The bioavailability of the test metronidazole product (Brand A) was compared to a commercial metronidazole brand as reference product in 24 healthy volunteers who received a single dose equivalent to 500 mg of the test and reference products in a randomized balanced two-way cross-overdesign separated by two-week wash-out period.Results: Mean standard calibration curves of metronidazole over the concentration range of 0.05 . 30 ƒÊg/ml were linear. No significant differences were found based on analysis of variance of the pharmacokinetics parameters required for the assessment of bioequivalence of test and reference formulations. The mean value and 90 %CI of test/reference ratios for the derived parameters were: Cmax, 9.64 vs. 8.38 (0.93 . 1.10), AUC0-24, 124.6 vs.122.3 ƒÊg.h/mL (0.973 . 1.051) and AUC0-‡, 140.9 vs. 128.4 h/mL (1.15 . 1.23).Conclusion: The test metronidazole product was bioequivalent to the reference. The method is suitable for bioequivalence and pharmacokinetic studies in humans with a low limit of quantification of 0.05 ƒÊg/ml.Keywords: Metronidazole, Bioequivalence, HPLC, Pharmacokinetics, Human plasm