Material Contribution to Justice - Toxic Causation after Resurfice Corp. v. Hanke

The vast universe of chemicals in the Canadian environment is presently understood only poorly by science. For many thousands of chemicals, important data regarding chronic toxicity are lacking. As a result, the requirement that the plaintiff in a negligence action prove causation of illness on a but-for standard has frequently been unattainable. In Resurfice Corp. v. Hanke, the Supreme Court of Canada articulated an important exception to the but-for test. In circumstances where but-for causation is unprovable due to limits in scientific knowledge, proof that a defendant materially contributed to the plaintiff\u27s risk of incurring the type of injury that was ultimately suffered will satisfy the causation element. This reform is an important first step in the evolution of a tort regime that is capable of doing justice in the chemical era

Quantum Confinement and Thickness-Dependent Electron Transport in Solution-Processed In₂O₃ Transistors

The dependence of charge carrier mobility on semiconductor channel thickness in field-effect transistors is a universal phenomenon that has been studied extensively for various families of materials. Surprisingly, analogous studies involving metal oxide semiconductors are relatively scarce. Here, spray-deposited In_{2}O_{3} layers are employed as the model semiconductor system to study the impact of layer thickness on quantum confinement and electron transport along the transistor channel. The results reveal an exponential increase of the in-plane electron mobility (µe) with increasing In2O3 thickness up to ≈10 nm, beyond which it plateaus at a maximum value of ≈35 cm^{2} V^{−1} s^{−1}. Optical spectroscopy measurements performed on In_{2}O_{3} layers reveal the emergence of quantum confinement for thickness <10 nm, which coincides with the thickness that µe starts deteriorating. By combining two- and four-probe field-effect mobility measurements with high-resolution atomic force microscopy, it is shown that the reduction in µe is attributed primarily to surface scattering. The study provides important guidelines for the design of next generation metal oxide thin-film transistors

Hidden negative linear compressibility in lithium L-tartrate†

Development of artificial muscles, next-generation pressure sensors and precision optics relies on advances in materials with anomalous mechanical properties. Negative linear compressibility, NLC, is one such rare, counterintuitive phenomenon, in which a material expands along one axis under hydrostatic pressure. Both classical and recent NLC materials face a pay-off between the active pressure range and magnitude of NLC, and in the vast majority of cases the NLC effect decreases with pressure. By decoupling the mechanical behaviour of building units for the first time in a winerack framework containing two different strut types, we show that lithium L-tartrate exhibits NLC with a maximum value, Kmax = -21 TPa^-1, and an overall NLC capacity, χNLC = 5.1 %, that are comparable to the most exceptional materials to date. Furthermore, the contributions from molecular strut compression and angle opening interplay to give rise to so-called “hidden” negative linear compressibility, in which NLC is absent at ambient pressure, switched on at 2 GPa and sustained up to the limit of our experiment, 5.5 GPa. Analysis of the changes in crystal structure using variable-pressure synchrotron X-ray diffraction reveals new chemical and geometrical design rules to assist the discovery of other materials with exciting hidden anomalous mechanical properties

Temperature stability of thin film refractory plasmonic materials

Materials such as W, TiN, and SrRuO3 (SRO) have been suggested as promising alternatives to Au and Ag in plasmonic applications owing to their stability at high operational temperatures. However, investigation of the reproducibility of the optical properties after thermal cycling between room and elevated temperatures is so far lacking. Here, thin films of W, Mo, Ti, TiN, TiON, Ag, Au, SrRuO3 and SrNbO3 are investigated to assess their viability for robust refractory plasmonic applications. These results are further compared to the performance of SrMoO3 reported in literature. Films ranging in thickness from 50 to 105 nm are deposited on MgO, SrTiO3 and Si substrates by e-beam evaporation, RF magnetron sputtering and pulsed laser deposition, prior to characterisation by means of AFM, XRD, spectroscopic ellipsometry, and DC resistivity. Measurements are conducted before and after annealing in air at temperatures ranging from 300 to 1000° C for one hour, to establish the maximum cycling temperature and potential longevity at elevated temperatures for each material. It is found that SrRuO3 retains metallic behaviour after annealing at 800° C, while SrNbO3 undergoes a phase transition resulting in a loss of metallic behaviour after annealing at 400° C. Importantly, the optical properties of TiN and TiON are degraded as a result of oxidation and show a loss of metallic behaviour after annealing at 500° C, while the same is not observed in Au until annealing at 600° C. Nevertheless, both TiN and TiON may be better suited than Au or SRO for high temperature applications operating under vacuum conditions

Los gneises escapolíticos de las ramaditas. Villa unión (Provincia de La Rioja)

Los gneises escapolíticos de las Ramaditas (provincia de La Rioja) son rocas· 'Calcosilicáticas que se hallan intercaladas entre rocas calcáreas y gneises feldespáticos. Se hallan en el denominado Basamento de la Sierra de Maz, al noroeste de Villa Unión, d"ormando una serie metamórfica compuesta por rocas de origen pelítico, cakáreo y calcosilicático. Las metamorfitas estudiadas están compuesta. principalmente por piroxeno, escapolita, cuarzo, granate y otros componentes mi. nerales. Los estudios mineralógicos en detalle ¡muestran la composición de las distintas asociaciones. Se han observado evidencias de dos estadios de cristalización 'en las rOcas estudiadas. El primero, se habría producido bajo metamorfismo de alto rango y está identificado por el par ferrosalita.escapolita (mizzonita). El segundo, que es de grado más bajo, se estima que se ha formado por debajo de la facie de anfibolitas almandínicas o comienzos de la misma. En el presente trabajo:se exhiben fenómenos de reacción y se comparan con los estadios de meta,mor· fismo mencionados. En el transcurso de trabajos en elaboración y futuros estudios :se darán nuevas evidencias de estos fenómenos de polimetamorfismo

Is weight bias evident in peer interactions between young and older children?

Objective This study aimed to investigate whether weight bias is apparent in young and older children’s interactions during a paired reading activity. Methods One hundred seventy‐two children (57% girls) read a book in which the main character, “Alfie,” was portrayed either as average weight or as having obesity. Younger children (mean = 6.1 years) were paired with a same‐sex older child (mean = 9.5 years). Questions within and at the end of the story prompted discussion. Children’s conversations were analyzed according to valence (emotional tone). Nonverbal behavior was noted via observation. Results Pairs of children reading about the Alfie character with obesity made significantly more negative and fewer positive comments when offering story completions. Just one pair of boys spoke about him being “fat.” There was no evidence that older children passed negative attitudes to younger children. Covertly expressed weight bias was more common. There was more frequent laughter while reading about the character with obesity, and two pairs made nonverbal reference to Alfie’s appearance. Conclusions Covert weight bias was apparent in the interactions of some of these children, but overt weight bias was rare. There is a need to establish a better chronology of children’s awareness of, and attitudes toward, obesity and how they are acquired

Efficacy of pulsed-dye laser for viral warts--an internal audit.

Pulsed-dye laser (PDL) surgery is a recognized treatment of viral warts. Initial studies in 1993 by Tan et al achieved a 72% cure rate for 39 patients after a mean of 1.68 treatments. Since then, conflicting response rates ranging from 47-95% have been reported. The records of 44 patients, who attended the Laser Unit at St. James's Hospital between January 1999 to June 2000, were reviewed. Follow-up was conducted by telephone interview or questionnaire. Twenty-eight (64%) patients identified for the study responded. The average number of treatments was 4 (range 1-12) and mean treatment intervals were 4.9 weeks (3-10). Our results showed 64% complete clearance of all the areas treated, and 46% complete clearance of the 13 areas identified as recalcitrant. Rates for complete clearance varied with anatomic site: 73% for the face, 68% for the hands, and 40% for feet. Seventy-eight percent (7/9) of periungal warts completely cleared, and 70% (7/10) mosaic warts cleared. Twenty-five percent of the patients complained of severe pain during treatment. Post-operative complications were few, and rarely affected the patients' lifestyle. The recurrence of warts, in weeks to months following the last treatment, was reported by 36% of the patients. Seventy-nine percent of patients were satisfied with the treatment they were given. PDL may be useful in treatment of refractory warts in selected patient populations. The study identified a need to address pain control in a significant number of patients