28266 research outputs found
Sort by
Power Shift: Evaluating Corporate Bylaws That Add Fee-Shifting Provisions After the Decision in Atp Tour Inc. v. Deutscher Tennis Bund, 91 A.3d 554 (Del. 2014)
Get PDFFee-shifting provisions are controversial because they shift the costs of litigation to a non-prevailing party, contrary to the widely accepted American Rule of litigation in which parties generally pay their own attorney’s fees and costs. In a case of first impression, the Delaware Supreme Court had to determine whether a fee-shifting provision within a non-stock corporation’s bylaws, also known as a fee-shifting bylaw, was valid and enforceable. In ATP Tour v. Deutscher Tennis Bund, the Delaware Supreme Court held that fee-shifting bylaws are permissible under Delaware law because a corporation’s bylaws are presumed to be valid. This Note argues that the Delaware Supreme Court’s holding in ATP Tour was correct, in part because there was no adverse binding or persuasive authority opposing a corporation from adopting a fee-shifting provision within its corporate bylaws at the time of the court’s holding, and in part because fee-shifting bylaws in the state of Delaware do not fall within the American Rule of litigation, as corporate bylaws in Delaware are contractual in nature. The Note argues the Delaware Supreme Court provided a clear standard for the adoption of facially valid bylaws under proper and equitable purposes, and argues the opinion should have included dictum specifying whether the holding applies to publicly held corporations. The Note analyzes ATP Tour in three parts, discussing the lack of authority suggesting fee-shifting bylaws are invalid and enforceable, the equitable purpose standard established by the Delaware Supreme Court in ATP Tour, and the controversy caused by the Delaware Supreme Court’s decision not to specify whether the holding of ATP Tour applies to publicly held corporations. The note concludes with the author’s closing thoughts and recommendations on ATP Tour, and looks at the future of derivative shareholder actions in the state of Delaware
To Dismantle the Master\u27s House: Postcolonial Feminist Praxis and the Palestinian Women\u27s Movement (1920-1939)
Get PDFStochastic SEIR(S) Model with Nonrandom Total Population
No full textIn this study we are interested on the following 4-dimensional system of stochastic differential equations.dS=(-βSI+μ(K-S)+αI+ζR)dt-σ_1 SIF_1 (S,E,I,R)dW_1+σ_4 RF_4 (S,E,I,R)dW_4 dE=(βSI-(μ+η)E)dt+σ_1 SIF_1 (S,E,I,R)dW_1-σ_2 EF_2 (S,E,I,R)dW_2 dI=(ηE-(α+γ+μ)I)dt+σ_2 EF_2 (S,E,I,R)dW_2-σ_3 IF_3 (S,E,I,R)dW_3 dR=(γI-(μ+ζ)R)dt+σ_3 IF_3 (S,E,I,R)dW_3-σ_4 RF_4 (S,E,I,R)dW_4 with variance parameters σ_i≥0 and constants α,β,η,γ,μ ζ≥0. This system may be used to model the dynamics of susceptible, exposed, infected and recovering individuals subject to a present virus with state-dependent random transitions. Our main goal is to prove the existence of a bounded, unique, strong (pathwise), global solution to this system, and to discuss asymptotic stochastic and moment stability of the two equilibrium points, namely the disease free and the endemic equilibria. In this model, as suggested by our advisor, diffusion coefficients can be any local Lipschitz continuous functions on bounded domain D={(S,E,I,R)∈R_+^4:00 of maximum carrying capacity and W_i are independent and identical Wiener processes defined on a complete probability space (Ω,F,{F_t }_(t≥0),P). At the end we carry out some simulations to illustrate our results
ROLE OF TMEM97/∑2 RECEPTOR IN REGULATING ANDROGEN RECEPTOR ACTIVITIES IN PROSTATE CANCER
No full textProstate cancer is the most common cancers in men. Androgen receptor (AR) is the primary driver of prostate cancer progression, and androgens are the male hormones to activate AR to simulate prostate cancer cells to grow. Thus, current therapy focuses on stopping androgen biosynthesis or blocking AR. However, suppression of AR activity by androgen depletion or direct AR antagonist treatment leads to emergence of castrate-resistant prostate cancer. Sigma-2 receptor (σ2R) plays an important role in cholesterol homeostasis and has been implicated in carcinogenesis including prostate cancer. Its molecular identity remained elusive until 2017 when transmembrane protein 97 (TMEM97) was identified as the bona fide sigma-2 receptor. Past studies have shown that σ2R is highly expressed in various mammalian tumor cell lines and TMEM97 was proposed as an oncogene in various cancers. We hypothesized that TMEM97/σ2 receptor regulates the expression and activities of androgen receptor and its variants to promote prostate cancer proliferation, and it can be a novel target of intervention to reduce AR oncogenic signaling in prostate cancer. The goal of this study is to define the role of TMEM97/σ2 receptor in prostate cancer, to unveil the mechanisms of TMEM97-AR interactions, and to explore therapeutic opportunity targeting TMEM97/σ2 receptor.Here we demonstrated that elevated TMEM97/σ2 receptor was found in prostate tumors of higher malignancy and advanced stages, and was associated with reduced survival of prostate cancer patients. Increased expression of TMEM97 enhanced prostate cancer cell proliferation, clonogenicity, and enzalutamide resistance. Knockdown of σ2 receptor expression reduced prostate cancer cell growth and clonogenicity, and sensitized LNCaP and castration resistant 22Rv1 cells towards enzalutamide. There was a positive correlation between TMEM97 and AR expressions in prostate cancers. Sigma-2 receptor knockdown reduced the protein expression of AR and its AR-V7 variant under hormone deprivation condition. Decreased TMEM97 also downregulated AR activities by inhibiting expression of prostate cancer maker genes and AR target genes. Its physical interaction with sigma-1 receptor was noticed, which may contribute to the regulation of AR. Sigma-2 receptor agonist can stimulate AR target genes expressions while antagonist decreased them. In addition, sigma-2 receptor antagonist provided synergism with enzalutamide treatment, showing therapeutic potential to overcome the resistance to current AR-targeted therapies
PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF MORAL FOUNDATIONS THEORY IN THE ADOPTION OF MIXED SPECIES GRAZING IN OKLAHOMA RANCHERS
No full textWoody Plant Encroachment (WPE) is the shifting in dominance of herbaceous to woody species resulting in the degradation of grassland ecosystems. WPE has widespread effects on biodiversity, livestock productivity, and other ecosystem services such as groundwater recharge. One promising way to manage WPE is through Mixed Species Grazing (MSG), or the introduction of browsers such as goats into existing cattle operations. Despite the benefits of this practice, the adoption of MSG in the southern great plains is low. One technique that is promising in encouraging environmental behaviors is known as moral reframing. Based on Moral Foundations Theory, moral reframing attempts to make messages more persuasive by utilizing moral foundations that are the basis of our moral intuitions. I conducted an online survey with ranchers in the Southern Great Plains of the United States to gather information on the diversity of opinion on the feasibility of using MSG across this region. The survey consisted of open-ended questions about various economic aspects of participants’ ranching operations, the level of encroachment on their land, and their feelings of ethical obligation to prevent the spread of WPE. The survey found many ranchers in support of using to control WPE but mixed responses to the suggestion of using a moral argument to promote MSG. The divisive response has implications for future outreach efforts. Additionally, to test the effect of moral reframing using container gardening as an environmental behavior, I conducted an experiment where I recruited 600 participants and compared the effect of reframed conditions on multiple container gardening DVs including recording the time spent reading an article and an Interest in Gardening Questionnaire. The experimental manipulation did not result in a significant difference between groups for the time spent, Interest in Gardening, or willingness to receive a newsletter on container gardening
FORMULATION OF ADVANCED FRICTION MATERIALS FOR THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY
No full textToday, the friction performance of brake materials is defined by the level and stability of the coefficient of friction, wear propensity, and sustainability [Filip, Friction Science and Applications, MAME, SIU Carbondale, 2023]. The paradigm shift in the transportation industry towards hybrid, electric, and autonomous vehicles demand a regenerative braking system in conjunction with a friction braking system that provides certain advantages like lower wear from friction brake, but also numerous challenges including corrosion and related noise as well as friction stability. In addition to wear from vehicles, large amounts of not used friction materials originating from worn pads and shoes are placed on various waste storage facilities/locations. These could be re-used in optimized new formulations. Recycled friction material mixed with new raw materials can be re-used to make a new formulation. This, however, requires that an optimized optimization process is in place. This thesis will try to explore that opportunity by using the Design of Experiments and Artificial Neural Networks in combination with scaled-down performance testing and analysis of friction surfaces of tested brake pads.The research focuses on the development of advanced friction materials for the brake industry using recycled friction materials that should have a high and stable friction coefficient, low wear, and be environmentally friendly. The basic formulation for the brake pad is developed based on the literature review with the addition of available friction modifiers in the friction industry. By using the Design of Experiments Taguchi Method eight samples were molded using the pre-developed manufacturing setup in the lab. The molded sample bulk and impervious density, porosity, and Shore D hardness were measured and found to be comparable with the commercial brake pads available in the market. After running all model DOE samples in the Universal Machine Tester (UMT) against uncoated C30 Waupaca rotors following the scale-down FMVSS 135 testing standard, the results were analyzed in the Minitab along with wear measurement data. Based on statistical analysis of DOE sample results, the optimized DOE sample 9 was molded and tested in UMT, and the result was close to the commercially available brake pads. The developed friction layer in the pads and rotors was analyzed in the Scanning Electron Microscope to understand the layers\u27 surface chemistry and morphology and the impact of the performance of the tested samples. Artificial Neural Networks on different models were prepared to predict the coefficient of friction of the optimized pads based on the inputs from the composition of the materials and testing conditions such as temperature, force, and torque. The final optimized DOE 9 sample showed high and stable friction performance in the heating snubs section of the testing procedure and had less wear as compared to other DOE samples. SEM and EDX analysis showed the developed friction surface in the pads and rotors. Among different tested models Recurrent Neural Network showed the better result on the prediction of coefficient of friction material