Legal Sociology Reformulated: the Transformation of Law in Globalization and New Citizenship

This article seeks to demonstrate how Law inter-related with Economy, constitutes in modern societies one of the main instruments for the construction of citizen consensus or the construction of political hegemony in modern societies. If we consider this affirmation —as is argued here— the transformations suffered in recent decades by Law as a consequence of the new phase of capitalistic globalization, have played an important role in the constitution of a new subjectivity (“single thought”) in the population.

Agricultural tenancy reform: the end of law; or a new popular culture?

This paper applies a reading of the postmodernisation of law to the incremental reform of agricultural holdings legislation over the last century. In charting the shifting legal basis of agricultural tenancies, from ‘black letter’ positivism to the cultural contextuality of sumptuary law, the paper theorises that the underlying political imperative has been allied to the changing significance of property ownership and use. Rather than reflecting the long-term official desire to maintain the let sector in British agriculture, however, the paper argues that this process has had other aims. In particular, it has been about an annexation of law to legitimise the retention of landowner power while presenting a rhetorical ‘democratisation’ of farming, away from its plutocratic associations and towards a new narrative of ‘depersonalised’ business.

The effect of a new drag-law parameterization on ice shelf water plume dynamics

A drag law accounting for Ekman rotation adjacent to a flat, horizontal bou ndary is proposed for use in a plume model that is written in terms of the depth-mean velocity. The drag l aw contains a variable turning angle between the mean velocity and the drag imposed by the turbulent bound ary layer. The effect of the variable turning angle in the drag law is studied for a plume of ice shelf wat er (ISW) ascending and turning beneath an Antarctic ice shelf with draft decreasing away from the groundi ng line. As the ISW plume ascends the sloping ice shelf–ocean boundary, it can melt the ice shelf, wh ich alters the buoyancy forcing driving the plume motion. Under these conditions, the typical turning ang le is of order 10° over most of the plume area for a range of drag coefficients (the minus sign arises for th e Southern Hemisphere). The rotation of the drag with respect to the mean velocity is found to be signifi cant if the drag coefficient exceeds 0.003; in this case the plume body propagates farther along and across the b ase of the ice shelf than a plume with the standard quadratic drag law with no turning angle.

Becoming a written word: eye movements reveal order of acquisition effects following incidental exposure to new words during silent reading

We know that from mid-childhood onwards most new words are learned implicitly via reading; however, most word learning studies have taught novel items explicitly. We examined incidental word learning during reading by focusing on the well-documented finding that words which are acquired early in life are processed more quickly than those acquired later. Novel words were embedded in meaningful sentences and were presented to adult readers early (day 1) or later (day 2) during a five-day exposure phase. At test adults read the novel words in semantically neutral sentences. Participants’ eye movements were monitored throughout exposure and test. Adults also completed a surprise memory test in which they had to match each novel word with its definition. Results showed a decrease in reading times for all novel words over exposure, and significantly longer total reading times at test for early than late novel words. Early-presented novel words were also remembered better in the offline test. Our results show that order of presentation influences processing time early in the course of acquiring a new word, consistent with partial and incremental growth in knowledge occurring as a function of an individual’s experience with each word.

Compliance to law and effectiveness of the rule of law in Brazil

The goal of this paper is to debate the degree of effectiveness of the rule of law in Brazil, through a survey measuring perceptions, attitudes and habits of Brazilians in regard to compliance to law. The survey conducted in Brazil is based on the study conducted by Tom R. Tyler in the United States, entitled Why People Obey the Law? (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1990). The main argument of Tyler´s study is that people obey the law when they believe it’s legitimate, and not because they fear punishment. We test the same argument in Brazil, relying on five indicators: (i) behavior, which depicts the frequency with which respondents declared to have engaged in conducts in disobedience to the law; (ii) instrumentality, measuring perception of losses associated with the violation of the law, specially fear of punishment; (iii) morality, measuring perception of how much is right or wrong to engage in certain conducts in violation of the law; (iv) social control, which measures perception of social disapproval of certain types of behavior in violation of the law, and (v) legitimacy, which measures the perception of respect to the law and to some authorities. Results indicate that fear of sanctions is not the strongest drive in compliance to law, but more than legitimacy, indicators of morality and social control are the strongest in explaining why people obey the law in Brazil.

A review of new vibration issues due to non-ideal energy sources

We analyze the dynamical coupling between energy sources and structural response that must not be ignored in real engineering problems, since real motors have limited output power. We present models of certain problems that render descriptions that are closer to real situations encountered in practice.

SEM analysis of the in situ early bacterial colonization on two novel feldspathic ceramics submitted to different types of glazing

Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate in situ, the early bacterial colonization on feldspar-ceramics submitted to different glazing. Methods and Materials: Fourteen standardized disc specimens (diameter: 5 mm, thickness: 1.5 mm) of each of two micro-particulate feldspathic ceramics (VM7 and VM13, Vita) were produced according to manufacturers' specifications for a total of 28 specimens (24 for the analysis of biofilm and 4 for topographic analysis analyzing the ceramic surfaces). Specimens from each type of ceramic were submitted to two different glazing methods composing four groups: VM7 glazed using glazing liquid Vita Akzent® 25 (G1) and glaze firing (G2), VM13 glazed using glazing liquid (G3) and glaze firing (G4). Six individuals (n=6) wore oral appliances with four ceramic specimens, fixed on the buccal face of the appliances. After 8 hours, each sample was evaluated for the presence (1) or absence (0) of bacterial colonization under a scanning electron microscope (SEM) on five randomly selected fields. The value for each sample was cumulative of the results observed in the fields. One sample from each group was evaluated under a SEM to verify the topographic pattern. Results: There was no difference with regard to bacterial colonization between the feldspar-ceramics and between the glazing types (Kruskal-Wallis non-parametric test). Conclusion: Feldspar-ceramics submitted to firing or glaze firing with Vita Akzent® 25 present a similar condition for in situ bacterial colonization. The similar topographic pattern of the ceramic surfaces seems to have influenced the bacterial colonization.

Analysis of a new cross flow heat exchanger flow arrangement - Extension to several rows

The present paper presents a theoretical analysis of a cross flow heat exchanger with a new flow arrangement comprehending several tube rows. The thermal performance of the proposed flow arrangement is compared with the thermal performance of a typical counter cross flow arrangement that is used in chemical, refrigeration, automotive and air conditioning industries. The thermal performance comparison has been performed in terms of the following parameters: heat exchanger effectiveness and efficiency, dimensionless entropy generation, entransy dissipation number, and dimensionless local temperature differences. It is also shown that the uniformity of the temperature difference field leads to a higher thermal performance of the heat exchanger. In the present case this is accomplished thorough a different organization of the in-tube fluid circuits in the heat exchanger. The relation between the recently introduced "entransy dissipation number" and the conventional thermal effectiveness has been obtained in terms of the "number of transfer units". A case study has been solved to quantitatively to obtain the temperature difference distribution over two rows units involving the proposed arrangement and the counter cross flow one. It has been shown that the proposed arrangement presents better thermal performance regardless the comparison parameter. (C) 2012 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Development of a new galaxy classification technique and its application to the zCOSMOS survey

The purpose of this Thesis is to develop a robust and powerful method to classify galaxies from large surveys, in order to establish and confirm the connections between the principal observational parameters of the galaxies (spectral features, colours, morphological indices), and help unveil the evolution of these parameters from $z \sim 1$ to the local Universe. Within the framework of zCOSMOS-bright survey, and making use of its large database of objects ($\sim 10\,000$ galaxies in the redshift range $0 < z \lesssim 1.2$) and its great reliability in redshift and spectral properties determinations, first we adopt and extend the \emph{classification cube method}, as developed by Mignoli et al. (2009), to exploit the bimodal properties of galaxies (spectral, photometric and morphologic) separately, and then combining together these three subclassifications. We use this classification method as a test for a newly devised statistical classification, based on Principal Component Analysis and Unsupervised Fuzzy Partition clustering method (PCA+UFP), which is able to define the galaxy population exploiting their natural global bimodality, considering simultaneously up to 8 different properties. The PCA+UFP analysis is a very powerful and robust tool to probe the nature and the evolution of galaxies in a survey. It allows to define with less uncertainties the classification of galaxies, adding the flexibility to be adapted to different parameters: being a fuzzy classification it avoids the problems due to a hard classification, such as the classification cube presented in the first part of the article. The PCA+UFP method can be easily applied to different datasets: it does not rely on the nature of the data and for this reason it can be successfully employed with others observables (magnitudes, colours) or derived properties (masses, luminosities, SFRs, etc.). The agreement between the two classification cluster definitions is very high. ``Early'' and ``late'' type galaxies are well defined by the spectral, photometric and morphological properties, both considering them in a separate way and then combining the classifications (classification cube) and treating them as a whole (PCA+UFP cluster analysis). Differences arise in the definition of outliers: the classification cube is much more sensitive to single measurement errors or misclassifications in one property than the PCA+UFP cluster analysis, in which errors are ``averaged out'' during the process. This method allowed us to behold the \emph{downsizing} effect taking place in the PC spaces: the migration between the blue cloud towards the red clump happens at higher redshifts for galaxies of larger mass. The determination of $M_{\mathrm{cross}}$ the transition mass is in significant agreement with others values in literature.

Organ transplantation in Switzerland: impact of the new transplant law on cold ischaemia time and organ transports

On 1 July 2007 a new transplant law came into force in Switzerland. The principal item of this new law is the change from centre-oriented allocation to patient-oriented national allocation of organs. The aim of the present study is to assess the impact on cold ischaemia time (CIT) and transport requirements.

Detection of Progressive Deterioration in Early Onset Schizophrenia with a New Statistical Method

Much controversy exists over whether the course of schizophrenia, as defined by the lengths of repeated community tenures, is progressively ameliorating or deteriorating. This article employs a new statistical method proposed by Wang and Chen (2000) to analyze the Denmark registry data in Eaton, et al (1992). The new statistical method correctly handles the bias caused by induced informative censoring, which is an interaction of the heterogeneity of schizophrenia patients and long-term follow-up. The analysis shows a progressive deterioration pattern in terms of community tenures for the full registry cohort, rather than a progressive amelioration pattern as reported for a selected sub-cohort in Eaton, et al (1992). When adjusted for the long-term chronicity of calendar time, no significant progressive pattern was found for the full cohort.

Treatment of premenopausal women with early breast cancer: old challenges and new opportunities

Breast cancer occurring in women before the age of menopause continues to be a major medical and psychological challenge. Endocrine therapy has emerged as the mainstay of adjuvant treatment for women with estrogen receptor-positive tumours. Although the suppression of ovarian function (by oophorectomy, irradiation of the ovaries or gonadotropin releasing factor analogues) is effective as adjuvant therapy if used alone, its value has not been proven after chemotherapy. This is presumably because of the frequent occurrence of chemotherapy-induced amenorrhoea. Tamoxifen reduces the risk of recurrence by approximately 40%, irrespective of age and the ovarian production of estrogens. The worth of ovarian function suppression in combination with tamoxifen is unproven and is being investigated in an intergroup randomised clinical trial (SOFT [Suppression of Ovarian Function Trial]). Aromatase inhibitors are more effective than tamoxifen in postmenopausal women but are only being investigated in younger patients. The use of chemotherapies is identical in younger and older patients; however, at present the efficacy of chemotherapy in addition to ovarian function suppression plus tamoxifen is unknown in premenopausal patients with endocrine responsive disease. 'Targeted' therapies such as monoclonal antibodies to human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER)-2, HER1 and vascular endothelial growth factor, 'small molecule' inhibitors of tyrosine kinases and breast cancer vaccines are rapidly emerging. Their use depends on the function of the targeted pathways and is presently limited to clinical trials. Premenopausal patients are best treated in the framework of a clinical trial.

Law in a Linguistic Battlefield: The Language of the New State Versus the ‘Language of the Oppressors’ in Ukraine

Article 10 of the 1996 Ukrainian Constitution proclaims that “The state language of Ukraine shall be the Ukrainian language” but continues: “Free development, use, and protection of Russian and other languages of national minorities of Ukraine shall be guaranteed in Ukraine.” Consolidating the position of the state language was at the centre of the "Orange Revolution", but President Yanukovich, elected in February 2010, has committed himself to a defence of the Russian language, as a regional language of Ukraine, and the battle is on to replace the Law on Languages of the Ukrainian SSR of 1989, which is still in force. Ukraine has ratified the Council of Europe’s European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. This article reflects on the relation between language and law, and endeavours to bring clarity to a situation which at times resembles an overheated kettle about to explode.

Is characterization of a single isolate sufficient for valid publication of a new genus or species? Proposal to modify recommendation 30b of the Bacteriological Code (1990 Revision)

From 1990 to 2000, the number of published named taxa based upon new isolates at species and genus levels in International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology, formerly International Journal of Systematic Bacteriology, have increased by approximately four- and sevenfold, respectively. New taxa based upon characterization of only a single isolate remained at around 40% for both categories. The Bacteriological Code (1990 Revision) has no recommendations on the number of strains required for definition of new taxa. For a few groups, a minimum number of 5-10 strains has been suggested in minimal standards. Since an exponential increase in new taxa can be expected in the future, the authors discuss problems related to naming new species and genera based upon descriptions of a single isolate and suggest that this practice is re-evaluated. It is proposed that the following should be added to Recommendation 30b of the Bacteriological Code: 'Descriptions should be based on as many strains as possible (minimum five), representing different sources with respect to geography and ecology in order to be well characterized both phenotypically and genotypically, to establish the centre (from which the type strain could be chosen) and the extent of the cluster to be named. In addition, comparative studies should be performed, including reference strains that represent neighbouring species and/or genera, in order to give descriptions that are sufficiently detailed to allow differentiation from these neighbours.'

Three-year efficacy and safety of new- versus early-generation drug-eluting stents for unprotected left main coronary artery disease insights from the ISAR-LEFT MAIN and ISAR-LEFT MAIN 2 trials.

BACKGROUND In percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) patients new-generation drug-eluting stent (DES) has reduced adverse events in comparison to early-generation DES. The aim of the current study was to investigate the long-term clinical efficacy and safety of new-generation DES versus early-generation DES for PCI of unprotected left main coronary artery (uLMCA) disease. METHODS The patient-level data from the ISAR-LEFT MAIN and ISAR-LEFT MAIN 2 randomized trials were pooled. The clinical outcomes of PCI patients assigned to new-generation DES (everolimus- or zotarolimus-eluting stent) versus early-generation DES (paclitaxel- or sirolimus-eluting stent) were studied. The primary endpoint was the composite of death, myocardial infarction (MI), target lesion revascularization and stroke (MACCE, major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular event). RESULTS In total, 1257 patients were available. At 3 years, the risk of MACCE was comparable between patients assigned to new-generation DES or early-generation DES (28.2 versus 27.5 %, hazard ratio-HR 1.03, 95 % confidence intervals-CI 0.83-1.26; P = 0.86). Definite/probable stent thrombosis was low and comparable between new-generation DES and early-generation DES (0.8 versus 1.6 %, HR 0.52, 95 % CI 0.18-1.57; P = 0.25); in patients treated with new-generation DES no cases occurred beyond 30 days. Diabetes increased the risk of MACCE in patients treated with new-generation DES but not with early-generation DES (P interaction = 0.004). CONCLUSIONS At 3-year follow-up, a PCI with new-generation DES for uLMCA disease shows comparable efficacy to early-generation DES. Rates of stent thrombosis were low in both groups. Diabetes significantly impacts the risk of MACCE at 3 years in patients treated with new-generation DES for uLMCA disease. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifiers: NCT00133237; NCT00598637.