Robust and high current cold electron source based on carbon nanotube field emitters and electron multiplier microchannel plate

The aim of this research was to demonstrate a high current and stable field emission (FE) source based on carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and electron multiplier microchannel plate (MCP) and design efficient field emitters. In recent years various CNT based FE devices have been demonstrated including field emission displays, x-ray source and many more. However to use CNTs as source in high powered microwave (HPM) devices higher and stable current in the range of few milli-amperes to amperes is required. To achieve such high current we developed a novel technique of introducing a MCP between CNT cathode and anode. MCP is an array of electron multipliers; it operates by avalanche multiplication of secondary electrons, which are generated when electrons strike channel walls of MCP. FE current from CNTs is enhanced due to avalanche multiplication of secondary electrons and in addition MCP also protects CNTs from irreversible damage during vacuum arcing. Conventional MCP is not suitable for this purpose due to the lower secondary emission properties of their materials. To achieve higher and stable currents we have designed and fabricated a unique ceramic MCP consisting of high SEY materials. The MCP was fabricated utilizing optimum design parameters, which include channel dimensions and material properties obtained from charged particle optics (CPO) simulation. Child Langmuir law, which gives the optimum current density from an electron source, was taken into account during the system design and experiments. Each MCP channel consisted of MgO coated CNTs which was chosen from various material systems due to its very high SEY. With MCP inserted between CNT cathode and anode stable and higher emission current was achieved. It was ∼25 times higher than without MCP. A brighter emission image was also evidenced due to enhanced emission current. The obtained results are a significant technological advance and this research holds promise for electron source in new generation lightweight, efficient and compact microwave devices for telecommunications in satellites or space applications. As part of this work novel emitters consisting of multistage geometry with improved FE properties were was also developed.

Progress towards Elimination of HIV Mother-to-Child Transmission in the Dominican Republic from 1999 to 2011

In 1999, prevention of mother-to-child transmission (pMTCT) using antiretrovirals was introduced in the Dominican Republic (DR). Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) was introduced for immunosuppressed persons in 2004 and for pMTCT in 2008. To assess progress towards MTCT elimination, data from requisitions for HIV nucleic acid amplification tests for diagnosis of HIV infection in perinatally exposed infants born in the DR from 1999 to 2011 were analyzed. The MTCT rate was 142/1,274 (11.1%) in 1999–2008 and 12/302 (4.0%) in 2009–2011 (), with a rate of 154/1,576 (9.8%) for both periods combined. This decline was associated with significant increases in the proportions of women who received prenatal HAART (from 12.3% to 67.9%) and infants who received exclusive formula feeding (from 76.3% to 86.1%) and declines in proportions of women who received no prenatal antiretrovirals (from 31.9% to 12.2%) or received only single-dose nevirapine (from 39.5% to 19.5%). In 2007, over 95% of DR pregnant women received prenatal care, HIV testing, and professionally attended delivery. However, only 58% of women in underserved sugarcane plantation communities (2007) and 76% in HIV sentinel surveillance hospitals (2003–2005) received their HIV test results. HIV-MTCT elimination is feasible but persistent lack of access to critical pMTCT measures must be addressed.

Membership and Immigration- Today's Civil Rights Agenda part 1

Ediberto Roman, J.D., Professor Law at Florida International University's College of Law presents a lecture on Martin Luther King Jr in relation to today's current immigration issues.

Use of child safety seats among Mexican parents in a small south Dade community

The purpose of this study was to determine the use and misuse of child safety seats among Mexican parents. Data were collected via personal interview and by use of the SAFE KIDS BUCKLE UP Child Safety Seat Checklist Form. This study used a descriptive comparative design. The convenience sample consisted of 63 Mexican mothers with at least one child under the age of four (index child). The findings showed that Mexican parents tend to misuse or not use child safety seats. Most parents were not aware of the misuse, and receiving prior information on the use of child safety seats had no bearing on its correct use. Factors influencing nonuse include lack of finances, driving short distances, leaving child safety seat at home, and being unaware of the Florida child restraint law. Findings of this study have implications for how nurses need to educate mothers on car safety and help reduce childhood injuries.

Mellow Parenting : systematic review and meta-analysis of an intervention to promote sensitive parenting

Acknowledgements For part of the preparation period for this article, AM was supported by an NHS Research Scotland Career Research Fellowship. AM, LT, and PW have been involved in previous research into Mellow Parenting as well as other parenting programmes and have collaborated with the Mellow Parenting charity. PW has had travel and subsistence expenses reimbursed for attendance at a Mellow Parenting conference; otherwise the authors have not received financial recompense for any of these activities. We thank the Mellow Parenting charity for their advice about conducting this review.

Mellow Parenting : systematic review and meta-analysis of an intervention to promote sensitive parenting

Acknowledgements For part of the preparation period for this article, AM was supported by an NHS Research Scotland Career Research Fellowship. AM, LT, and PW have been involved in previous research into Mellow Parenting as well as other parenting programmes and have collaborated with the Mellow Parenting charity. PW has had travel and subsistence expenses reimbursed for attendance at a Mellow Parenting conference; otherwise the authors have not received financial recompense for any of these activities. We thank the Mellow Parenting charity for their advice about conducting this review.

Measured parental weight status and familial socio-economic status correlates with childhood overweight and obesity at age 9

Background: Parental obesity is a predominant risk factor for childhood obesity. Family factors including socio-economic status (SES) play a role in determining parent weight. It is essential to unpick how shared family factors impact on child weight. This study aims to investigate the association between measured parent weight status, familial socio-economic factors and the risk of childhood obesity at age 9. Methodology/Principal Findings: Cross sectional analysis of the first wave (2008) of the Growing Up in Ireland (GUI) study. GUI is a nationally representative study of 9-year-old children (N = 8,568). Schools were selected from the national total (response rate 82%) and age eligible children (response rate 57%) were invited to participate. Children and their parents had height and weight measurements taken using standard methods. Data were reweighted to account for the sampling design. Childhood overweight and obesity prevalence were calculated using International Obesity Taskforce definitions. Multinomial logistic regression examined the association between parent weight status, indicators of SES and child weight. Overall, 25% of children were either overweight (19.3%) or obese (6.6%). Parental obesity was a significant predictor of child obesity. Of children with normal weight parents, 14.4% were overweight or obese whereas 46.2% of children with obese parents were overweight or obese. Maternal education and household class were more consistently associated with a child being in a higher body mass index category than household income. Adjusted regression indicated that female gender, one parent family type, lower maternal education, lower household class and a heavier parent weight status significantly increased the odds of childhood obesity. Conclusions/Significance: Parental weight appears to be the most influential factor driving the childhood obesity epidemic in Ireland and is an independent predictor of child obesity across SES groups. Due to the high prevalence of obesity in parents and children, population based interventions are required.

Child care proceedings in non-specialist courts: the experience in Ireland

It is widely accepted that court proceedings concerning child protection are a particularly sensitive type of court proceedings that warrant a different approach to other types of proceedings. Consequently, the use of specialized family or children’s judges or courts is commonplace across Europe and in common law jurisdictions. By contrast, in Ireland, proceedings under the Child Care Act 1991 are heard in the general courts system by judges who mostly do not specialize in child or family law. In principle, the Act itself and the associated case law accept that the vulnerability of the parties and the sensitivity of the issues involved are such that they need to be singled out for a different approach to other court proceedings. However, it is questionable whether this aspiration has been realized in a system where child care proceedings are mostly heard in a general District Court, using the same judges and the same physical facilities used for proceedings such as minor crime and traffic offences. This article draws on the first major qualitative analysis of professional perspectives on child care proceedings in the Irish District Court. It examines evidence from judges, lawyers, social workers, and guardians ad litem and asks whether non-specialist courts are an appropriate venue for proceedings on an issue as complex and sensitive as child protection, or whether the establishment of specialist family courts with dedicated staff and facilities provides a better solution.

Cognitive behavior therapy for anxiety disorders in youth: Treatment specificity and mediation effects

The present study investigated the efficacies of Individual CBT (ICBT), Parent Relationship Skill Training (RLST, which targets increasing parental acceptance of youth and increasing autonomy granting) and Parent Reinforcement Skills Training (RLST, which targets increasing parental positive reinforcement and decreasing negative reinforcement). The specific aims were to examine treatment specificity and mediation effects of parenting variables. ICBT was used as a baseline comparison condition. The sample consisted of 253 youth (ages 5-16 years; M = 9.38; SD = 2.42) and their parents. To examine treatment outcome and specificity, the data were analyzed using analysis of variance within a structural equation modeling framework. Mediation was analyzed via structural equation modeling using MPlus. Results indicated that ICBT, RLST, and RFST produced positive treatment outcomes across all indices of change (i.e., clinically significant improvement, anxiety symptom reduction) and across all informants (i.e., youths and parents). RLST was associated with incremental reduction in youth anxiety symptoms beyond ICBT, as per youth report. Treatment specificity effects were found for participants in RFST in terms of parental reinforcement, as per parent report only. Treatment mediation was not found for any of the hypothesized parenting variables (i.e., parental acceptance, parental autonomy granting, parental reinforcement). The results support the use of CBT involving only the youth and the parent and youth together for treating youth anxiety. The findings’ implications are further discussed in terms of the need to conduct further meditational treatment outcome designs in order to continue to advance theory and research in youth anxiety treatment.

CONSTITUTIONAL JUSTICE IN AFRICA: An Examination of Constitutional Positivism, Fundamental Law and Rights in Ghana and Nigeria

This work explores the idea of constitutional justice in Africa with a focus on constitutional interpretation in Ghana and Nigeria. The objective is to develop a theory of constitutional interpretation based upon a conception of law that allows the existing constitutions of Ghana and Nigeria to be construed by the courts as law in a manner that best serves the collective wellbeing of the people. The project involves an examination of both legal theory and substantive constitutional law. The theoretical argument will be applied to show how a proper understanding of the ideals of the rule of law and constitutionalism in Ghana and Nigeria necessitate the conclusion that socio-economic rights in those countries are constitutionally protected and judicially enforceable. The thesis argues that this conclusion follows from a general claim that constitutions should represent a ‘fundamental law’ and must be construed as an aspirational moral ideal for the common good of the people. The argument is essentially about the inherent character of ‘legality’ or the ‘rule of law.’ It weaves together ideas developed by Lon Fuller, Ronald Dworkin, T.R.S. Allan and David Dyzenhaus, as well as the strand of common law constitutionalism associated with Sir Edward Coke, to develop a moral sense of ‘law’ that transcends the confines of positive or explicit law while remaining inherently ‘legal’ as opposed to purely moral or political. What emerges is an unwritten fundamental law of reason located between pure morality or natural law on the one hand and strict, explicit, or positive law on the other. It is argued that this fundamental law is, or should be, the basis of constitutional interpretation, especially in transitional democracies like Ghana and Nigeria, and that it grounds constitutional protection for socio-economic rights. Equipped with this theory of law, courts in developing African countries like Ghana and Nigeria will be in a better position to contribute towards developing a real sense of constitutional justice for Africa.

See you in Geneva? Democracy, the Rule of Law and the WTO (Working Paper 16)

This paper is a constructivist attempt to understand a global political space where states as actors (the traditional domain of international relations theory and international law) are joined by international organizations, firms, NGOs, and others. Today we know that many supposedly private or international orders (meaning sources of order other than the central institutions of the territorial state) are engaged in the regulation of large domains of collective life in a world where the sources of power are multiple, sovereignties are overlapping, and anarchy is meaningless. The paper begins with an attempt, discussed in the first section, to sort out what the rule of law might mean in the context of the WTO, where we soon see that it can only be understood by also considering the meaning of Administrative Law. Much of the debate about rule of law depends on positivist and centralist theories of “law,” whose inadequacy for my purposes leads, in the second section, to a discussion of legal pluralism and implicit law in legal theory. These approaches offer an alternative theoretical framework that respects the role of the state while not seeing it as the only source of normativity. The third section looks directly at WTO law and dispute settlement. I tr y to show that the sources and interpretations of law in the WTO and the trading system cannot be reduced to the Dispute Settlement Body. I conclude in the fourth section with some suggestions on how a WTO rule of law could be understood as democratic.

Default Invariance: Naïve Category of Law and Finance

Default invariance is the idea that default does not change at any scale of law and finance. Default is a conserved quantity in a universe where fundamental principles of law and finance operate. It exists at the micro-level as part of the fundamental structure of every financial transaction, and at the macro- level, as a fixed critical point within the relatively stable phases of the law and finance cycle. A key point is that default is equivalent to maximizing uncertainty at the micro-level and at the macro-level, is equivalent to the phase transition where unbearable fluctuations occur in all forms of risk transformation, including maturity, liquidity and credit. As such, default invariance is the glue that links the micro and macro structures of law and finance. In this essay, we apply naïve category theory (NCT), a type of mapping logic, to these types of phenomena. The purpose of using NCT is to introduce a rigorous (but simple) mathematical methodology to law and finance discourse and to show that these types of structural considerations are of prime practical importance and significance to law and finance practitioners. These mappings imply a number of novel areas of investigation. From the micro- structure, three macro-approximations are implied. These approximations form the core analytical framework which we will use to examine the phenomena and hypothesize rules governing law and finance. Our observations from these approximations are grouped into five findings. While the entirety of the five findings can be encapsulated by the three approximations, since the intended audience of this paper is the non-specialist in law, finance and category theory, for ease of access we will illustrate the use of the mappings with relatively common concepts drawn from law and finance, focusing especially on financial contracts, derivatives, Shadow Banking, credit rating agencies and credit crises.

Risk and benefits in lifestyle sports: parkour, law and social value

This paper examines the interrelationship between law and lifestyle sports, viewed through the lens of parkour. We argue that the literature relating to legal approaches to lifestyle sport is currently underdeveloped and so seek to partially fill this lacuna. Hitherto, we argue, the law has been viewed as a largely negative presence, seen particularly in terms of the ways in which counter-cultural activities are policed and regulated, and where such activities are viewed as transgressive or undesirable. We argue that this is a somewhat unsophisticated take on how the law can operate, with law constructed as an outcome of constraints to behaviour (where the law authorises or prohibits), distinct from the legal contexts, environments and spaces in which these relationships occur. We argue that the distinctive settings in which lifestyle sports are practiced needs a more fine-grained analysis as they are settings which bear, and bring to life, laws and regulations that shape how space is to be experienced. We examine specifically the interrelationship between risk and benefit and how the law recognises issues of social utility or value, particularly within the context of lifestyle sport. We seek to move from user-centred constructions of law as an imposition, to a more nuanced position that looks at parkour at the intersections of law, space and lifestyle sport, in order to reveal how law can be used to support and extend claims to space.

"Sub Tiberio quies"? Judaea’s Political Situation under the Prefects (6-41 c.e.), between Reality and Ideology

Deeply conflicting views on the political situation of Judaea under the Roman prefects (6-41 c.e.) have been offered. According to some scholars, this was a period of persistent political unrest and agitation, whilst according to a widespread view it was a quiescent period of political calm (reflected in Tacitus’ phrase sub Tiberio quies). The present article critically examines again the main available sources –particularly Josephus, the canonical Gospels and Tacitus– in order to offer a more reliable historical reconstruction. The conclusions drawn by this survey calls into question some widespread and insufficiently nuanced views on the period. This, in turn, allows a reflection on the non-epistemic factors which might contribute to explain the origin of such views.