Hong Kong – After the change of sovereignty

On 1 July 1997 the People’s Republic of China (PRC) resumed sovereignty over Hong Kong. Peter Willoughby (Consultant, Deacons Graham & James) summarises the impact on the laws of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China The paper was originally written by Jane McBride, a partner in Deacons Graham & James and has been revised and updated by Peter Willoughby. Published in the Letter from … section of Amicus Curiae - Journal of the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies and its Society for Advanced Legal Studies. The Journal is produced by the Society for Advanced Legal Studies at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, University of London

On Flattenability of Graphs

We consider a generalization of the concept of $d$-flattenability of graphs - introduced for the $l_2$ norm by Belk and Connelly - to general $l_p$ norms, with integer $P$, $1 \le p < \infty$, though many of our results work for $l_\infty$ as well. The following results are shown for graphs $G$, using notions of genericity, rigidity, and generic $d$-dimensional rigidity matroid introduced by Kitson for frameworks in general $l_p$ norms, as well as the cones of vectors of pairwise $l_p^p$ distances of a finite point configuration in $d$-dimensional, $l_p$ space: (i) $d$-flattenability of a graph $G$ is equivalent to the convexity of $d$-dimensional, inherent Cayley configurations spaces for $G$, a concept introduced by the first author; (ii) $d$-flattenability and convexity of Cayley configuration spaces over specified non-edges of a $d$-dimensional framework are not generic properties of frameworks (in arbitrary dimension); (iii) $d$-flattenability of $G$ is equivalent to all of $G$'s generic frameworks being $d$-flattenable; (iv) existence of one generic $d$-flattenable framework for $G$ is equivalent to the independence of the edges of $G$, a generic property of frameworks; (v) the rank of $G$ equals the dimension of the projection of the $d$-dimensional stratum of the $l_p^p$ distance cone. We give stronger results for specific norms for $d = 2$: we show that (vi) 2-flattenable graphs for the $l_1$-norm (and $l_\infty$-norm) are a larger class than 2-flattenable graphs for Euclidean $l_2$-norm case and finally (vii) prove further results towards characterizing 2-flattenability in the $l_1$-norm. A number of conjectures and open problems are posed

Actinomycetes and actinophage in fresh water

Actinomycetes are a group of micro-organisms which lie, in classification, half-way between the fungi and the bacteria. They may be isolated from the plating of leaf washings, water samples and mud dilutions on to nutrient agar (with incorporated actidione to eliminate fungi). The predominant genus varied with the source of the sample. An attempt was also made to isolate the phages of some Actinomycetes. A search was made in the typical environments of the host, for the virus. In this way actinophage were also isolated; and shown to be capable of being transmitted from one host strain to another host strain within 1 sp or from one host to another within 1 genus; i.e. polyvalent

Momentum harvesting techniques for solar system travel

Astronomers are lately estimating there are 400,000 Earth visiting asteroids larger than 100 meters in diameter. These asteroids are accessible sources of building materials, propellants, oxygen, water, and minerals which also constitute a huge momentum reserve, potentially usable for travel throughout the solar system. To use this momentum, these stealthy objects must be tracked and the extraction of the momentum wanted must be learned. Momentum harvesting by momentum transfer from asteroid to spacecraft, and by using the momentum of the extraterrestrial material to help deliver itself to the destination are discussed. A net and tether concept is the suggested means of asteroid capture, the basic momentum exchange process. The energy damping characteristics of the tether will determine the velocity mismatch that can be tolerated, and hence the amount of momentum that can be harvested per capture. As it plays out of its reel, drag on the tether steadily accelerates the spacecraft. A variety of concepts for riding and using the asteroid after capture are discussed. The hitchhiker uses momentum transfer only. The beachcomber, the caveman, the swinger, the prospector, and the rock wrecker also take advantage of raw asteroidal materials. The chemist and the hijacker go further, they process the asteroid into propellant. Or, an 'asteroid railway system' could evolve with each hijacked asteroid becoming a scheduled train. Travelers could board the space railway system assured that water, oxygen, and propellants await them

Book review: Britain and Africa under Blair: in pursuit of the good state

Syerramia Willoughby, editor of the Africa at LSE blog, reviews Julia Gallagher’s recent book on Tony Blair’s passion for Africa, touching also on David Cameron’s impressive financial commitment to aid despite Britain’s debt

Management of reliability and maintainability; a disciplined approach to fleet readiness

Material acquisition fundamentals were reviewed and include: mission profile definition, stress analysis, derating criteria, circuit reliability, failure modes, and worst case analysis. Military system reliability was examined with emphasis on the sparing of equipment. The Navy's organizational strategy for 1980 is presented

Competition Law – Parallel imports – another view

The author discusses issues of brand ownership and distribution networks and the global market in the light of the High Court decision in the Davidoff case. Article by Tony Willoughby (Senior Partner, Willoughby &amp;amp; Partner) published in Amicus Curiae - Journal of the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies and its Society for Advanced Legal Studies. The Journal is produced by the Society for Advanced Legal Studies at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, University of London

Book review: aid and Africa: what it means for politicians to “do good”

Syerramia Willoughby, editor of the Africa at LSE blog, reviews Julia Gallagher’s book on Tony Blair’s passion for Africa, touching also on David Cameron’s impressive financial commitment to aid despite Britain’s debt. Britain and Africa under Blair: In Pursuit of the Good State. Julia Gallagher. Manchester University Press. April 2011

Saprolegnia infections of salmonid fish

This paper deals firstly with the identification and characteristics of fungal pathogens that colonize salmonids and then considers the relative importance of the condition of the host fish and the environmental factors which may influence the interaction between pathogen and host

A new technology for manufacturing scheduling derived from space system operations

A new technology for producing finite capacity schedules has been developed in response to complex requirements for operating space systems such as the Space Shuttle, the Space Station, and the Deep Space Network for telecommunications. This technology has proven its effectiveness in manufacturing environments where popular scheduling techniques associated with Materials Resources Planning (MRPII) and with factory simulation are not adequate for shop-floor work planning and control. The technology has three components. The first is a set of data structures that accommodate an extremely general description of a factory's resources, its manufacturing activities, and the constraints imposed by the environment. The second component is a language and set of software utilities that enable a rapid synthesis of functional capabilities. The third component is an algorithmic architecture called the Five Ruleset Model which accommodates the unique needs of each factory. Using the new technology, systems can model activities that generate, consume, and/or obligate resources. This allows work-in-process (WIP) to be generated and used; it permits constraints to be imposed or intermediate as well as finished goods inventories. It is also possible to match as closely as possible both the current factory state and future conditions such as promise dates. Schedule revisions can be accommodated without impacting the entire production schedule. Applications have been successful in both discrete and process manufacturing environments. The availability of a high-quality finite capacity production planning capability enhances the data management capabilities of MRP II systems. These schedules can be integrated with shop-floor data collection systems and accounting systems. Using the new technology, semi-custom systems can be developed at costs that are comparable to products that do not have equivalent functional capabilities and/or extensibility