\u3cem\u3eMason v. The Ship Blaireau\u3c/em\u3e: Salvage, Slaves, and the Law of Nations

In March 1803, French ship Le Blaireau ran into Spanish ship of war St. Julien in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, severely damaging the Blaireau such that her captain and crew abandoned ship and boarded the St. Julien, with the exception of seaman Thomas Toole. The next day, British ship The Firm found and temporarily repaired the Blaireau, and helped Toole bring her into port in Baltimore, which was The Firm’s destination. The case addressed the question of awarding salvage; specifically, to whom should there be salvage, and in what amounts? It also raised questions about jurisdiction and the rules for awarding salvage to slaves; and twenty-four years after the Supreme Court’s decision, the Blaireau resurfaces in a fascinating memorial to the Senate. This paper explores those topics

The Curious Case of Justice Neil Gorsuch

Justice Gorsuch has a propensity for unexpected decisions. His opinions in Bostock v. Clayton County, United States v. Vaello Madero, and McGirt v. Oklahoma confounded the legal community at large. Some argue that his Western upbringing played a role. Others argue that his time clerking for Justice Kennedy primed him for unpredictable decisions. These explanations do not get at the core of Justice Gorsuch’s legal reasoning. This article dives into the depths of these opinions to extract his “Enduring” theories of law. I argue that legal scholarship has incorrectly viewed these three decisions as isolated incidents when they are best understood as a collective effort by Justice Gorsuch. By extracting the themes and rules from these opinions, I maintain that he is the most likely conservative Justice on Supreme Court to rule in favor of marginalized people. Further, his steadfast following of his own theories of law will undoubtedly lead to more decisions like the ones discussed here. Justice Gorsuch’s predisposition for astonishing legal experts will continue to happen until they properly put his past decisions into perspective and understand them as a unified group. Blindly ignoring the recognizable pattern will only hinder efforts to make significant legal change, especially for the groups Justice Gorsuch has previously sided with

MoKCa database - mutations of kinases in cancer

Members of the protein kinase family are amongst the most commonly mutated genes in human cancer, and both mutated and activated protein kinases have proved to be tractable targets for the development of new anticancer therapies The MoKCa database (Mutations of Kinases in Cancer, http://strubiol.icr.ac.uk/extra/mokca) has been developed to structurally and functionally annotate, and where possible predict, the phenotypic consequences of mutations in protein kinases implicated in cancer. Somatic mutation data from tumours and tumour cell lines have been mapped onto the crystal structures of the affected protein domains. Positions of the mutated amino-acids are highlighted on a sequence-based domain pictogram, as well as a 3D-image of the protein structure, and in a molecular graphics package, integrated for interactive viewing. The data associated with each mutation is presented in the Web interface, along with expert annotation of the detailed molecular functional implications of the mutation. Proteins are linked to functional annotation resources and are annotated with structural and functional features such as domains and phosphorylation sites. MoKCa aims to provide assessments available from multiple sources and algorithms for each potential cancer-associated mutation, and present these together in a consistent and coherent fashion to facilitate authoritative annotation by cancer biologists and structural biologists, directly involved in the generation and analysis of new mutational data

Breast cancer survivors\u27 views of how support groups and activism have affected their healing process

The purpose of this study was to explore what effects participation in breast cancer support groups and activism had on the lives of breast cancer survivors. The effects of activism and support group participation on healing and the meanings women made of their experiences were documented through women\u27s voices. Themes of general support and outlook on life were also explored. Through the use of in-depth, open-ended, qualitative interviews, twelve women were invited to tell the stories of their illness, activism, and healing. The findings of this study confirmed previous studies, which document the importance of support for breast cancer survivors in their healing process. The support of family and friends, among others, was vital for study participants. Support groups were particularly helpful because respondents found that other breast cancer survivors had a better understanding of what they were going through. Breast cancer activism had positive effects on participants\u27 healing processes. The importance of supporting other breast cancer survivors and of contributing to efforts to eradicate breast cancer was reflected in each of the women\u27s narratives. The idea of integrating activism into traditional support groups was largely supported. Finally, despite the negative consequences of the disease, the majority of the study participants felt that their breast cancer experiences led them to make positive changes in their lives

Simulated Multi-Echelon Readiness-Based Inventory Leveling with Lateral Resupply

For the past fifty years, U.S. Air Force reparable inventory has been allocated based on an analytic model developed by Dr. Craig C. Sherbrooke. Although versions of his model can be implemented easily with the help of a computer, the analytic approach fundamentally lacks the flexibility to address numerous logistics issues. This body of research will offer a novel alternative approach that will enable researchers to investigate currently unsolved logistics problems such as quantifying the benefits of lateral resupply

Chromogenic detection of nerve agent mimics

A new chromogenic protocol for the selective detection of nerve agent mimics is reported.Costero Nieto, Ana Maria, [email protected] ; Gil Grau, Salvador, [email protected] ; Parra Alvarez, Margarita, [email protected]

Supramolecular thermoplastics and thermoplastic elastomer materials with self-healing ability based on oligomeric charged triblock copolymers

Supramolecular polymeric materials constitute a unique class of materials held together by non-covalent interactions. These dynamic supramolecular interactions can provide unique properties such as a strong decrease in viscosity upon relatively mild heating, as well as self-healing ability. In this study we demonstrate the unique mechanical properties of phase-separated electrostatic supramolecular materials based on mixing of low molar mass, oligomeric, ABA-triblock copolyacrylates with oppositely charged outer blocks. In case of well-chosen mixtures and block lengths, the charged blocks are phase separated from the uncharged matrix in a hexagonally packed nanomorphology as observed by transmission electron microscopy. Thermal and mechanical analysis of the material shows that the charged sections have a T-g closely beyond room temperature, whereas the material shows an elastic response at temperatures far above this T-g ascribed to the electrostatic supramolecular interactions. A broad set of materials having systematic variations in triblock copolymer structures was used to provide insights in the mechanical properties and and self-healing ability in correlation with the nanomorphology of the materials

Multivalency in healable supramolecular polymers: the effect of supramolecular cross-link density on the mechanical properties and healing of non- covalent polymer networks

Polymers with the ability to heal themselves could provide access to materials with extended lifetimes in a wide range of applications such as surface coatings, automotive components and aerospace composites. Here we describe the synthesis and characterisation of two novel, stimuli-responsive, supramolecular polymer blends based on p-electron-rich pyrenyl residues and p-electron-deficient, chain-folding aromatic diimides that interact through complementary p–p stacking interactions. Different degrees of supramolecular “cross-linking” were achieved by use of divalent or trivalent poly(ethylene glycol)-based polymers featuring pyrenyl end-groups, blended with a known diimide–ether copolymer. The mechanical properties of the resulting polymer blends revealed that higher degrees of supramolecular “cross-link density” yield materials with enhanced mechanical properties, such as increased tensile modulus, modulus of toughness, elasticity and yield point. After a number of break/heal cycles, these materials were found to retain the characteristics of the pristine polymer blend, and this new approach thus offers a simple route to mechanically robust yet healable materials

Thiophene-Fused Tropones as Chemical Warfare Agent-Responsive Building Blocks

We report the synthesis of dithienobenzotropone-based conjugated alternating copolymers by direct arylation polycondensation. Postpolymerization modification by hydride reduction yields cross-conjugated, reactive hydroxyl-containing copolymers that undergo phosphorylation and ionization upon exposure to the chemical warfare agent mimic diethylchlorophosphate (DCP). The resulting conjugated, cationic copolymer is highly colored and facilitates the spectroscopic and colorimetric detection of DCP in both solution and thin-film measurements.United States. Defense Threat Reduction Agency. Chemical and Biological Technologies Department (Grant BA12PHM123